Dear Supporters,

May has come and gone, and with it, we’ve got another Media Coordinator Report to deliver. Here are the numbers:

• 15,529 submissions
• 6 pickups

If you didn’t catch my mid-month update, I laid out the submission and pickup process there.

Now, last month I said I fully expected to be back up to snuff with our numbers. What I wasn’t anticipating was a relatively slow month for us here at the Center. From April 29th to May 30th, C4SS published 16 commentaries. Some of them were incredibly timely, others were concerning more evergreen topics.

One avenue I see around that (which I will be pitching the rest of C4SS on) is a proposal to submit feature articles and blog posts to magazines and other news websites.

Other than that, our dry spell does seem to be ending. We’ve already got a new Kevin Carson article that went up today, and James C Wilson’s love letter to The Pirate Bay is also in our June queue.

Open Submissions

If you know of a publication in your area that you think would either be receptive to or open for publishing op-eds, features or blogs from C4SS, shoot me an email at media@c4ss.org. I’ll add it to our submit lists and we’ll see if we can’t get anarchy published in your area!

Also, I’ve promised it for too long, but June is the month that our media guide will officially be ready to share with you all. It will have tips and tricks on how to craft that perfect first op-ed. Here’s an excerpt:

The first, most obvious item you’ll need for your op-ed-to-be is… something to write about. And not just any something — something newsworthy. One of my first-ever pieces for the Center was an article on post-Superstorm Sandy relief efforts in New York City. While it’s not a bad piece of writing (he says, two years later), it would not be fit for publication today. Why? Because Superstorm Sandy is not a news hook anymore. Writing about historical events is only commentary-worthy if you can connect them to events occurring in the present — something you’re undoubtedly already good at!

Another good rule of thumb to follow: write outside of your scope. This is the most daunting task for a new writer especially, but if you can write on international issues from an international perspective, you’ll already have a wanting niche cornered.

Now, this is not to say you can’t write about, for instance, your local municipal government exacting civil forfeiture on your fellow residents. That kind of story has a long reach as well. It’s a different reach, but it’s not any less valuable.

But none of this is possible without readers like you. We’re able to keep the lights on due to your support, so thank you for everything. I’ll see you next month.

Yours in solidarity,
Trevor Hultner
Media Coordinator
C4SS