About Us

The Syracuse New Times offers provocative, credible journalism, progressive thinking and edgy arts coverage. Our audience is devoted to our publication, the fourth-oldest alternative weekly in the country, and read us cover-to-cover. With 30 full-time staff and up to a dozen freelance contributors, The New Times produces 52 issues and more than 25 special sections per year. Active in the local community, The New Times sponsors or contributes to more than 100 charities. Many of our staff are involved in festival planning and are on committees or activist groups such as the Syracuse Ad Club, The Syracuse Chamber of Commerce and 40 Below.  

Learn about the history and future of the Syracuse New Times in the words of our publisher.

Free-Lance Guidelines

Every year more than half the editorial matter published in the Syracuse New Times comes from people not on our full-time staff. Cover stories, interviews, What’s Shakin’ items, arts and entertainment features, sports stories, book reviews and cartoons are all occasionally generated by free-lancers. It’s fair to say The New Times would have a tough time surviving without them. As a result, we look forward to reading, editing and eventually publishing free-lance material.

This being said, you should be aware that for every 10 unsolicited manuscripts we receive, only one is likely to be published in The New Times. To ensure that you waste neither our time nor yours, here are some guidelines.

Substance

Generally speaking, what most impresses us is thoughtful, clear writing. The subject matter is almost secondary. It is crucial that the piece be lively, interesting and appealing to the uninterested reader–in the way that a well-written piece on boxing can appeal to a reader who hates the subject. We tend to avoid journalism that is abstract and generalized, and to favor writing that deals with specifics and, in doing so, suggests the universal. We generally turn down stories written in the first person.

With good writing of paramount importance, we then give preference to the stories that fit our format. Take a look at a recent copy of The New Times to see what we make room for and what we don’t really have. Cover stories are often news stories or features of considerable length. The What’s Shakin’ section is shorter, newsier items, the back of the book contains art and entertainment section contains art and entertainment stories, books, features, human interest pieces, food and lifestyle articles and reviews.

Since The New Times is a Syracuse newspaper, we generally run stories that are about the metropolitan area, or at least are relevant to Central New York readers.

Now that we’ve laid down the rules, remember that rules are made to be broken. A story, no matter how it may deviate from these guidelines, may be published in The New Times if it is well written and strikes our fancy.

Process

If you have an idea for an article, send us a brief explanation of the story and how you expect to put it together, including possible sources and key questions. If this is your first query to us, please include some kind of resume. (Sorry about the formality, but we like to know with whom we’re dealing.

If you’ve already written an article and would like us to look at it, we are happy to look at unsolicited manuscripts. Most of the articles we use are between 600 and 1,000 words, three to six typed pages. Cover stories and longer features sometimes run two to three times that length. Generally speaking, the shorter, the better, but you should write what you’re comfortable with. We can always adjust it later.

Odds and Ends

The New Times purchases first publication rights only; all other rights revert to you, and we expect regional exclusivity. If you are submitting material that has been published before, including illustrations and cartoons, please supply the date and location of when and where it appeared.

The New Times’ libel insurance does not cover free-lance writers. You must assume full responsibility for the legal consequences that may occur as the result of your reporting.

NEVER say you are writing a story for this newspaper without first getting permission from the editor.

E-mail us a copy of the article in Word or WordPerfect. A 3.5-inch disk may be used as well.

Do not send us your only copy: We do not return manuscripts unless they are accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Please allow us up to a month to respond to your submissions. And don’t expect a response if you haven’t included a SASE.

Compensation

We pay a minimum of $10 for short items to a maximum of $250 for cover stories. Everything else falls somewhere in between. Full-length reviews of books, films or videos start at $50. Feature articles start at $75. 

A Final Note

You may mail, e-mail or fax your query to us or leave it in person at our front desk. Please don’t make an editor’s life any more difficult by asking to see him or her. The time to discuss a story is after we have read it, not when you first bring it in.