Pitch Guidelines for Freelancers

A perfect Asian Dispatch story is either or a combination of these:

  • Public interest and solution-oriented stories that the readers will benefit from
  • A unique story idea on an already existing topic which is told through data visualisation/multimedia reporting that no one else has done before

Asian Dispatch prioritises stories that have a cross-border angle. We strive to use the Asian Dispatch network to connect freelancers with local reporters. We aim to subvert western-centric journalistic traditions and want to tell stories for Asian audiences from an Asian perspective.

A unique way of storytelling  is key to Asian Dispatch execution of stories. If you can think of telling a story through photos, multimedia elements, visualisations, videos or any other form, then we are excited to hear from you.

Asian Dispatch focuses on stories that go beyond the headlines. We urge you to think about the long-term impact of your story, before you send us a pitch. Ask yourself these questions: are you genuinely interested/invested in this story? What’s new about it, and/or why now? Why should the reader care? How can we tell the story differently? Here’s a little more that can help you write a pitch.

How Can I Pitch? 

Send a pitch, with a tentative headline and a brief (no more than 500 words), to the editorial team at editor@asiandispatch.net. No draft without an approved pitch will be entertained. Only shortlisted pitches will receive a response from the editor.

The author should share periodic updates with the editorial team of Asian Dispatch to ensure editorial alignment. The author should communicate a clear deadline for the story and provide updates in case of a delay.

Kill Fees Provision 

The need for a kill fee provision arises when:

The story was canceled post commission due to reasons beyond the organisation’s control. In such a scenario, we will provide 25% of the commissioning rate ($50 in case the word limit is not decided) to the author.

However, there will be no kill fee in situations where:

  • The story doesn’t align with the approved pitch and can’t be salvaged
  • The story is no longer relevant due to the deadline violations by the author
  • The story has been written using AI tools or has been plagiarised