While the goal of the Progress Report is to build a sustainable collective of permanently-employed journalists, we’re not there yet, and in the meantime we do commission freelance work.

We can offer up to $200 for shorter analysis pieces (from around 800 to around 1200 words), and from $200 to $400 for longer features or for investigative journalism. We are not presently seeking pitches for photographic or video work.

Please note that the Progress Report is not seeking unsolicited opinion or editorial pitches. Please also be aware that the Progress Report is Alberta-focused and is not seeking pitches on federal or international issues.

Before sending your pitch to us, please review our ethics guidelines below, as well as Progress Alberta’s statement of principles, to make sure your proposal is appropriate for our publication.

Ethics guidelines at the Report

The Progress Report conducts mission journalism in accordance with the statement of principles of our parent organization, Progress Alberta.

We hold that the primary allegiance of this publication is to the truth, and that this takes precedence over all other objectives.

We strive for accuracy and fairness in our reporting, which means

• We avoid allowing our biases to influence our reporting.
• We disclose conflicts of interest.
• We grant any subjects criticized by our reporting an opportunity to comment.
• We respect the rights to privacy and fair trial.

The Progress Report seeks to maintain its independence from outside influence, which means

• We don’t report on matters where our writers have financial interests or personal motives.
• We don’t report on political activities that the reporter or our parent organization are participating in.
• We do not accept payment to publish any content, including advertisements.
• We do not take editorial direction from donors, supporters, or anyone outside of the staff team.

The Progress Report expects its writers to observe professional journalist standards, which means

• We identify our sources of information, unless there is a clear and pressing reason to grant anonymity.
• If we grant anonymity to a source in an article, we explain why.
• If we have agreed to grant anonymity to a source, we keep that promise.
• We independently verify facts given to us by unnamed sources.

The Progress Report is firm in its support for Progress Alberta’s principles, which means

• We use our reporting and analysis to push back against political misinformation.
• We aim where possible to bring regular freelancers on as permanent staff.
• We aim to grow the Progress Report away from a small organization reliant on freelancers and towards a worker collective model.
• We seek to provide mentorship, platforms, and professional opportunities to writers from marginalized or under-represented communities.
• We focus our editorial direction on stories relating to Progress Alberta’s principles.

The Progress Report is accountable, which means

• We avoid publishing anonymously or under pen-names unless there is a clear and pressing reason to grant anonymity.
• We do not publish any content that has been generated by artificial intelligence, including graphics and illustrations.
• If we make an error in our reporting, we will correct it, and we will announce that correction.
• We will answer to the public for our reporting and our conduct.

Submission guidelines

If you've read our statement of principles and our ethics guidelines and you think the article you have in mind is a good fit, please send us your pitch in confidence at [email protected]. Please note in the subject line that you are sending us a pitch.

We regret that we do not have the capacity to publish everything we are sent. If you don't hear back from us about your pitch within two weeks, please assume we aren't able to take it and feel free to pitch to other publications.