I haven’t been the editor for long, but one of the questions that comes up a lot, whether in person, over the phone or via email, is how someone can get their work in the Tucson Weekly.

One misconception people seem to have is that we have open full-time writing positions that we’re looking to fill. While it would be great if we could expand our staff (maybe), in these lean-and-mean journalistic times, the opportunities to actually work here are rare, so if we’re not advertising for a specific position, we’re not hiring. Best of luck to you, intrepid and enthusiastic journalist, but don’t send me your resumé.

However, since we do run quite a few freelance pieces, there are still opportunities to make it in the paper (or online). We have a great existing network of contributors, so your work will have to be really good and you’ll need to have some understanding of the sort of work we generally run (which, surprisingly, a number of the writers who contact me don’t). Also, with only the rarest of exceptions, you’ll need to be in Tucson.

So, let’s say you’re a great local writer. A regular reader of our paper and you get the alt-weekly voice (whatever that means). Don’t email me a list of your clips asking if we have work for you. If I have a story idea, it’s going to go to a writer I know, someone I know turns in solid work, on time. If you want to write for us, you’re going to need to pitch a story. Think about something we’re missing, a story you have a unique ability to cover. Something that would fit perfectly between pieces by our award-winning writers. Something we haven’t covered already. Then (and hopefully only then) email me your pitch: how you’re planning on covering the story and an idea of what you’ll accomplish when you’re done. Don’t call, because I’ll tell you to email me anyhow.

I want to expand our list of contributors and I want to include stories that have previously fallen through the cracks of local media. Just help me out by following the process.

This article appears in Jan 10-16, 2013.

The editor of the Tucson Weekly. I have no idea how I got here.

4 replies on “Editor’s Note”

  1. Mr. Gibson, you might check my comment on Tom Danehy’s piece. One thing you seem to require of writers for the weekly is that they include plenty of ad hominem arguments when mentioning policies of conservatives or Republicans. That is your style, and I find it less than satisfying, although it is a common aspect of writing for the ‘alternative’ newspapers. I wonder what the Weekly would look like if it treated its ‘opposition’ as if they were sincere believers in their positions and were people who actually had intellects that suggested their positions are intended for the best for the country (city, state, county, etc.).

  2. Like chuckj; it seems to be the Weekly does is a strongly promote the far left and ridicule any person or organization that is right of center. Mr Boegle published one of my stories when I was a student at the U of A majoting in journalism and it could have been construed as a conservative piece. He even commented to me stating I was one of the vey few conservative pieces he had published. I understand the nature of independent press as a mouth piece for the left and I enjoy the discourse allowed in the comments. But it seems as though some of your writers prefer name calling to facts.

  3. Thanks for the comments (mostly). While I think it’s a given that the Weekly has a left-of-center lean at times, most of the paper’s content is generally apolitical (unless you think food reviews and interviews with bands are liberal in some way) or merely critical rather than specifically partisan. Personally, I just want the city and state that I live in to be run effectively by people who actually mean what they say. I’ve largely given up on the idea that one party or the other has a lock on accomplishing that task, so when people do stupid things, in opposition to common sense or the will of the citizenry, I want the Weekly to call the scoundrels out. Democrat, Republican? I don’t really care. Do your job and we won’t call you an idiot. Simple as that. By the way, we’re hardly a “mouth piece for the left.” I probably get more angry calls and emails from the left side of the political spectrum than the right.

    We run more conservative stuff than you think and we run more content backed with fact and in-depth research than either of you give us credit for. I hope you’ll still around for the conversation, I hope you don’t let your political differences with a quarter of the paper (at best) interfere with your enjoyment of the other 3/4. If you have an interesting take on Tucson culture, politics or whatever, I’d love to run your work in the Weekly, regardless of your political leanings. It’s as simple as that.

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