-This call for submissions is now closed-
The Monitor is accepting pitches for our July/August 2021 issue. The theme of the issue is Media democracy and misinformation.
Back when we landed on this topic, there was still a Huffington Post Canada, and Rogers and Shaw were still separate companies. But these latest changes speak to the speed and the severity with which Canada's media landscape continues to change with greater ownership concentration and fewer outlets offering space for a diversity of voices.
At the same time, a burgeoning fake news biosphere has taken root on social media, fanning the flames of racism, spreading lies about COVID-19 vaccines' safety, creating child trafficking panics reminiscent of the satanic panic of the 1980s.
In Canada, the media democracy movement has sputtered along for several decades, largely ignored, with researchers and activists continually sounding alarms that the creation of media oligopolies would have deleterious effects on our democracy and the capacity of media to serve as a public square for important conversations.
Can the media democracy movement be revived in Canada? How do we create a grassroots comeback from the edge of media oblivion? In the age of individuals living in curated content bubbles, is it possible to have conversations "across the aisle"? How do we stop the lure of Q-style conspiracies from derailing the important discourses and organizing that needs to happen ahead of the next federal (and, where applicable, provincial) election?
What we're looking for
We are looking for feature articles, investigative journalism, illustrations, and book reviews, that are rooted in an intersectional analysis between 700-1,500 words. Your writing style should be accessible (not academic or theoretical).
The Monitor is committed to gender equity and is actively working to promote work from Black, Indigenous, and racialized writers.
-This call for submissions is now closed-
How to pitch
Your pitch should include what topic you want to cover, how you are approaching it (style, content) and your estimated word count. Please also include your relevant experience and background in writing about this topic. Pitches should be sent to monitor@policyalternatives.ca.
If you have not written for the Monitor before, please provide a link to a short writing sample.
If your pitch is accepted, first drafts are due May 17, 2021. We reserve the right to edit your work.
We aim to reply to every pitch–including those that we can’t accommodate right now. However, because of time constraints, we may not be able to respond to everyone. If you don’t hear back within two weeks of the pitch deadline, please assume that we were unable to accept your pitch.
We encourage you to keep reading the Monitor and pitch us again in the future!
