How to Submit a Tip or Story Idea to The Outlook

Updated

The Outlook, Monmouth University's student-run news outlet at outlook.monmouth.edu, provides a "Got a Tip?" option on its homepage for readers who want to flag a story or share information. If you have something newsworthy tied to the Monmouth community, that link is your starting point. The site does not publish a detailed submission form, email address, or editorial contact page in the material available, so expect to work from the tip link and the section structure rather than a formal pitch process.

What The Outlook Covers

Knowing the sections helps you aim your tip at the right desk. The site organizes content under these headings:

Section Typical content
News Campus events, administration decisions, safety and cybersecurity incidents
Opinion Editorial and student commentary
Editorial Staff-position pieces
Student Voices First-person student writing
Features Longer profiles and human-interest stories
Lifestyles Student life and culture
Entertainment Music, film, and campus arts
Comics Illustrated and cartoon content
Politics Political coverage relevant to the community
Sports Game results, team news, athletics features
Climate Environmental and climate-related reporting
Club & Greek News Student organizations and Greek life
The Verge Additional section listed in the site navigation

Recent coverage shows the range you can pitch into: an SGA vote to defund the paper, a cybersecurity breach and resulting lawsuits, the death of former president Grey Dimenna, a pipe burst in Rechnitz Hall, the campus store being outsourced to Follett Corporation, and a women's lacrosse win over Old Dominion. If your tip fits one of these lanes, name that section when you submit.

How to Send a Tip

  1. Go to outlook.monmouth.edu.
  2. Locate the Got a Tip? link in the site navigation.
  3. Use that entry point to submit your information.

The available page material does not show what fields the tip form contains, whether it accepts anonymous submissions, or what response time to expect. Treat the link as the confirmed channel and avoid assuming a guaranteed reply.

What Makes a Tip Usable

Student journalists work on deadlines and need verifiable detail. A tip is more likely to move forward when it includes:

  • What happened — a specific event, decision, or document, not a general concern.
  • When and where — dates and campus locations.
  • Who is involved — named offices, departments, or organizations where relevant.
  • How you know — whether you witnessed it, have a document, or heard it secondhand.
  • How to reach you — if you are willing to be contacted for follow-up.

For example, a tip about a department relocating classes after a facilities problem is stronger with the building name, the date, and the affected programs than with a general complaint about campus maintenance.

Contacting Editors and Writers

The Outlook is produced by named student staff, including editors and reporters credited on individual articles (for instance, Mairead Spellacy, Ava McGinty, Krysteen Rodriguez, Caitlyn Jenkins, Edward Granados, Lorelai Hilarczyk, and Michael McNamara appear across recent bylines). The available material does not list direct email addresses or a masthead contact page, so the tip link remains the documented route. If you already know which section your story belongs to, referencing it in your message helps route it to the right writer.

Practical Notes

  • The Outlook is a student publication, so staffing and response times follow the academic calendar.
  • There is no subscription or payment step mentioned anywhere on the site — submitting a tip is not a paid service, and no pricing signals appear in the site data.
  • Coverage is centered on the Monmouth University community, so tips with a campus or local angle fit best.
  • If your tip concerns a sensitive matter such as a data breach or personnel decision, be clear about what you can substantiate, since the paper has covered litigation and institutional controversies before.