Youth Environmental News Desk
Writers Guidelines
To celebrate the work of young winners of the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Award, Horizon Communications and the Environment News Service have joined forces to create a Youth Environmental News Desk.
News reports written by people up to the age of 19 will be published and distributed worldwide by the Environment News Service (ENS), the original international daily newswire of the environment, online at: http://ens-news.com and featured on the Horizon Solutions Site at: http://www.solutions-site.org.
Articles for publication from the Youth Environment News Desk should focus on workable solutions to current environmental problems from an unbiased perspective.
Stories can cover anything that affects the well being of the Earth and its inhabitants. Some examples are:
- environmentally friendly developments in science and technology
- protection of public health
- air and water quality
- oceans and marine life
- land use and avoiding abuse
- wildlife conservation
- forests preservation
- indoor environment
- hazardous materials and toxic chemical reduction
- nuclear issues
- renewable energy and energy conservation
- recycling and reducing over consumption
- transportation
All articles must the original work of the writers who submit them. Anyone under the age of 19 is eligible to submit articles.
Articles should be between 600 and 700 words in length. They must answer the basic questions - who, what, when, where, why, how many, and how much does it cost.
It is essential that all facts given in your news articles be 100 percent accurate. When in doubt, check again.
Sources of information should be written right into the articles.
For example, write, "The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research estimates the population of dolphins in the Northeast Atlantic at 132,000," rather than, "The population of dolphins in the Northeast Atlantic is 132,000."
It is best to include actual quotes from the people you are writing about. Most people are glad to express their views to a reporter doing a positive story about their accomplishments.
Include all viewpoints. There may be people who do not agree with the solution to whatever problem you are writing about. Please make sure their opinions are also part of the article. What raises news reporting above advocacy is the expression of a variety of views.
Make sure all names are spelled accurately and titles are given in full. When writing about a little known place give its location with relation to the capital of the country or some other well known place.
Photographs are welcome to illustrate the articles, but lack of photos will not mean that an article is turned down for publication.
Please submit original photos taken by the reporter or someone else who has given permission for that photo to be used, and provide the name of the photographer and their group affiliation, if any. Photos already published on the Internet can be used as long as permission to use them is secured in writing. This permission can be obtained by writing to the webmaster of the site where the photos are located and should be sent to the editorial panel along with the article.
Submit your article together with a brief personal resume by email to the ENS/Horizon Youth Environmental News Desk at: news@ens-news.com. Please put the words Youth Desk in the subject line of the email message. Photos can be sent as email attachments.
Articles must be in by the first of each month to be considered for publication in that month.
All submissions will be reviewed by a seven member international panel chosen jointly by Horizon Communications and the Environment News Service. Their decisions are final.
At least one article each month will be selected for publication. The writers of all published reports will receive a byline and be paid a fee of $50 for each article.
News reports published through the Youth Environmental News Desk will be translated and distributed in Spanish, English, German, Portugese, Swedish, Mandarin, Swahili, French, Nepali, Punjabi, Urdu, and Hindi, with distribution in other languages in the future.
Thank you for your interest in writing for the ENS/Horizon Youth Environmental News Desk.
[top] [Solutions Site home] [News] [Kids Site]