MSR Submission Guidelines

Since 1934, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder has established itself as a trusted voice for the diverse Black communities of Minnesota—championing voices and stories that might otherwise go unheard. The MSR’s mission is to provide timely news and information focused on community empowerment and education while championing underrepresented voices.

What We Look For

The MSR is seeking solidly reported and groundbreaking content that not just informs, but also inspires, educates and encourages conversations that go beyond today’s news headlines.

Submissions should be written in AP style and cover timely topics, including political and cultural news, community, education, finance, health and wellness, entertainment, arts and culture, sports and op-eds.

This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Articles on important events and trends in Minnesota’s African American and African immigrant communities.
  • Interviews with executive and public leadership who are impacting the community through their businesses, organizations and/or individual organizing and programming.
  • National news, politics and issues with a local angle.
  • Journalistic coverage of community and neighborhood events and meetings.
  • Thought-provoking opinion and analysis pieces on important and current issues affecting African Americans and the African diaspora.

Article Requirements

  • Articles should range in length from 800-1000 words, unless previously discussed.
  • We prefer articles submitted via Microsoft Word or pasted into the body of email.
  • Please include references and links in text in parentheses.
  • Please include your name, email, phone number and short bio with your submission.

How To Pitch

To be considered, please send an email pitch, including the following:

  • Working title
  • One- to two-paragraph description of what you’d like to cover, what makes it relevant/timely and why you are qualified/ the one to cover it.
  • Links to writing samples

The MSR will review and respond to pitches within five (5) business days. As there is a minimum two-week lead time, we don’t recommend pitching an article that will be old news next week.

How To Submit

  • If you have already written a piece you would like to submit, please email your submission to submissions@spokesman-recorder.com with the subject line: Article Submission.
  • The MSR will review and respond to unsolicited submissions within four weeks.
  • Unless a pitch has been previously approved, there is no guarantee your submission will be reviewed/published.
  • Editors may request revisions/additional information.

Payment:

  • The MSR pays for original, unpublished articles depending on content type. We do not pay for reprinted articles or opinion pieces.
  • Approved submissions will be paid upon publication (within two weeks after the article is published).