How to Pitch a Story Idea or Contribute to Martlet

Martlet, the University of Victoria's independent newspaper, accepts story pitches and volunteer contributions through two entry points listed on its site: Pitch your story ideas and Volunteer. If you have a story tip, an op-ed concept, or want to get involved in student journalism, those are the routes to use. The site does not publish a detailed submission form or editorial guidelines in the available material, so the practical step is to go through those sections directly.

What Martlet publishes

Understanding the sections helps you pitch to the right place. Based on the site's navigation and recent content, Martlet's coverage includes:

Recent examples show the range: a student guide to municipal and provincial elections, coverage of the "Break The Slate" reforms in Saanich, a profile of a nursing student running for council, and culture pieces like the Latin American & Spanish Film Week and theatre reviews.

How to pitch a story idea

1. Identify the section your idea fits — News, Local News, Opinions, Culture, Features, Campus, or Humour.
2. Go to the "Pitch your story ideas" entry on the Martlet site. This is the designated channel for submitting story concepts.
3. Prepare a concise pitch: what the story is, why it matters to UVic students or the local community, and what angle you'd take. For opinion pieces, state your argument clearly.
4. Submit through that channel and wait for a response. The site does not specify a response time or acceptance criteria in the available material.

If your pitch is time-sensitive — for example, covering an upcoming election or event — mention the deadline or date in your pitch so editors can assess urgency.

How to volunteer

The Volunteer entry is the path for ongoing involvement rather than a one-off pitch. This suits students and community members who want to contribute regularly as writers, editors, photographers, or in other roles. The site lists this as a separate section from pitching, so use it if you're offering sustained time rather than a single story idea.

What to expect

• Independent student newspaper: Martlet is described as "The University of Victoria's Independent Newspaper," so contributors are typically part of or connected to the UVic community.
• Newsletter: The site offers a "Subscribe to Newsletter" option at martlet.ca/subscribe if you want to follow published work before pitching.
• No published rate or payment details appear in the available material, so treat contribution as a volunteer or student-journalism opportunity unless you hear otherwise from the editors.

Practical tips

• Read recent issues first to match Martlet's tone and section style.
• For news tips, lead with the facts: who, what, when, where, and why it matters locally.
• For opinion pitches, a clear, arguable thesis works better than a general topic.
• If you're unsure which section fits, pitch it as a general story idea and let the editors route it.

The two concrete actions are: use Pitch your story ideas for a specific story concept, and Volunteer if you want to contribute on an ongoing basis.