The fall harvest is upon us... and we know you're looking to dig up more than carrots. Take off the garden gloves and pitch us an investigative feature for our Jan/Feb 2014 issue of The Dominion. The deadline to pitch is October 1 at midnight.

The Media Co-op has published exposés of racism in the Canadian military, the public relations underside of Canada's mining sector and the impacts of Agent White on Manitoba farmers. Our upcoming issue feature a report on uranium mining in northern Saskatchewan. The next big breaking story could be yours.

We know there are still many untold stories that only grassroots, co-operative media outlets like the Media Co-op and The Dominion will tackle. To help our contributors dig deeper and be better compensated for their efforts, we launched the Media Co-op Investigative Fund.

The latest round of pitching story ideas is now open. We’re offering $400 for an investigative feature to be published in the Jan/Feb issue of The Dominion. Please make sure your idea will still be timely by our publication date. The investigative fund is separate from our regular calls for news and analysis pieces, which we send out monthly. We want thoroughly-researched stories with numerous interviews for these. Please look at our past investigative features for reference.

Story ideas have been pouring in from readers. We prioritize these suggestions when considering pitches, so we encourage you to take a look at them.

The article you propose should be 2,200 words and present fresh angles, original research on undetected issues and/or bold solutions to common problems. If it's an international story, tell us what the strong Canadian angle will be. If the story focuses on a particular city or region of Canada, tell us why it's of interest to a national audience and how it will be placed into a national context.

Pitches are welcome from anyone; priority for payment goes to those who have previously contributed. You'll work with Dominion editors over the course of a month or more to produce the article.

Want to get your sleuth on but don't know how to pitch a story? It's elementary, my dear contributor:

1. Set up a Media Co-op account (if you don’t already have one): 
   http://mediacoop.ca/user

2. Check out this page for hot topics and details about writing for The Dominion:  http://dominionpaper.ca/write. For a more in-depth look, check out our Writer’s Guide here: http://mediacoop.ca/writersguide

3. Peruse the Media Co-op discussion page for story ideas: 
   http://www.mediacoop.ca/group/discuss/18940

4. Pitch! http://mediacoop.ca/investigativepitch

The deal:

Pitches should be less than 400 words and include a thorough description of planned sources (interviews or documents) and research. An entire story submitted as a pitch will not be considered for payment. Editors reserve the right to suggest changes and edit stories (with your participation, of course!). Pitches should capture the content, tone and style of the story you plan to submit; if the content submitted differs significantly from the pitch, editors reserve the right to withhold payment.

Deadline for pitches: Tuesday, October 1 at midnight.

First draft due October 31

Final piece due November 25

Don't receive our calls for pitches in your inbox yet? Sign-up here!

Looking forward to what you'll unearth!

The Editorial Collective