What’s Your Story? A Guide to Getting Your News in The Washington Post

A Guide to Getting Your News In The Washington Post

Every day The Washington Post receives hundreds of news tips from community and business leaders, government workers, parents, cab drivers, students and people from all over the metropolitan area. Many tips become items on washingtonpost.com/local or in the next day’s paper. Some even provide the first break in a major story that has a profound impact on affairs in the capital, the nation and the world.

Unfortunately, there is never enough space in any single edition to print everything that is written in our newsroom that day. Only about 180,000 words — a fraction of the more than 2 million words written each day by more than 500 Post reporters, editors, web producers and foreign correspondents -- is printed in the newspaper. Far more is included on our Web site, but there is much cut in the editing process.

Here are some hints on how to give your story idea the best chance of being used

·    Decide which section of the newspaper would be most interested in your story. If it is in connection with high school sports, contact the sports editors; local business, the business editors; local news, the metro editors.  E-mail is the best way to make an initial contact, but you may also call or write a letter.

·    If your story is in connection with something you read in The Post, contact the reporter whose byline is on the article. The e-mail address of Post reporters is printed at the bottom of every story in the newspaper. On-line, you may click on the reporter’s byline and receive biographical information about the author, a selection of recent stories written by that author and a form for submitting a comment. Use that form to submit your story idea.

·    Include as many names and facts as you can. And remember, even if you don’t include the other side of the story, The Post will cover both sides in the interest of fairness.

·    Do not expect to be paid. As a matter of policy, The Post neither accepts gifts or payments from people who offer news or information, nor does it pay for news tips it receives. Do not be discouraged to discover your story has already been covered or that somebody else has submitted the information before you. Instead, continue to keep The Postin mind and call again.

The Metro section is not the only place for local news

Many local stories are published both in the dailyMetro sectionand on the local news home page (washingtonpost.com/local). But not all Metro news is published in the newspaper. Some items are published only on-line. Other stories and event listings are published only for residents of one particular county or area. To accommodate these reports, The Postpublishes community news as part of Thursday’s Local Living section.  These sections target areas including Arlington-Alexandria, Prince George’s, Prince William, Montgomery, the District, Fairfax, Loudoun and Southern Maryland.

Getting your news to us

Q. I believe I have a story for The Post. What do I do?