CONTRIBUTING TO THE COOPER SQUARE
The Cooper Square is a student-led news publication of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute that aims to produce and publish outstanding student journalism at New York University.
We are committed to working with both undergraduate and graduate journalism students to sharpen their news judgment, strengthen their writing, and uphold high standards of accuracy and integrity. At the center of our mission at The Cooper Square is collaborating with students at various stages of reporting and career development to become published journalists prior to graduation.
Our Editors work collaboratively and thoughtfully in guiding and mentoring reporters through every stage of the editorial process – from pitching and reporting to editing and publishing.
All work submitted for publication to The Cooper Square will be subject to our internal editorial process, which may take several rounds of review and collaboration with our Story Editors.
WHAT WE PUBLISH
The Cooper Square is a news publication that seeks to publish high-quality news stories, produced as part of journalism students’ coursework at New York University. Stories may originate from a journalism course or can be pursued individually with the goal of publishing. Students interested in pitching story ideas to The Cooper Square, and are interested in working 1:1 with a Story Editor on how to approach and execute a story, are encouraged to submit pitches.
Our Editors adhere to strong editorial standards of a traditional newsroom and seek to publish well-written, clear and authoritative news stories and features that have a minimum of three credible sources. Stories should strive to meet various levels of newsworthiness: timeliness, scope, and impact. They should also be written fairly and demonstrate independence.
Outside of digital stories, our Editors also welcome students pitching their audio and video projects for consideration.
HOW TO PITCH
Pitches are required with your submission even if you already have a graded story from your classwork at NYU. A Story Editor will reply to your pitch within a week of submission.
A good, strong pitch should be fairly short. Pitches come in different forms, but here’s what we suggest:
- Grab us with a telling scene, or statistics that show a significant change, or demonstrate to us how you may have access to a timely subject. Think of this as the thing you’d tell your friends in a group chat. What are you most excited about?
- The nut graph. Why is this story important now? What are the stakes?
- The train-is-moving graph. Tell us a little about the reporting you’ve already done. For example, I went to the opening of the restaurant and interviewed the head chef and customers.
- If this is still in the idea stage, what reporting are you planning on doing?
VISUALS
All pitches, as you’ll see in the form, need visual element(s), i.e. photo, graphics, or multimedia. Photos should be submitted as a jpeg, at least 1024 pixels wide. We prefer at least one horizontal image.
By uploading a photo as part of the pitch, you are guaranteeing that you have the rights to the photo. That means, you either took the photo or you worked with a student who took the photo. If you don’t have a photo, please send us a note with a visual plan or look for a photo on AP Images via the NYU library.
READY TO SUBMIT?
The Cooper Square has two pitch forms:
Please note: Audio and video stories should be accompanied by a transcript.
OFFICE HOURS
Feel like you need some more guidance? Want to talk through a story idea? Reach out to us at coopersquare@nyu.edu, and we’ll find a time to chat.
