How to pitch Transformer
News, explainers, and reported features
Transformer is keen to hear pitches from experienced journalists and writers with interesting stories, analysis and takes on AI. Below are some rough guidelines about what we are looking for and how to pitch us.
What to pitch
Our coverage is guided by four key principles:
Importance: We focus on the most significant issues based on likelihood, severity, and scale
Neglectedness: We prioritize telling important stories that aren't covered elsewhere
Future relevance: We assess developments through the lens of "what happens if systems become even more powerful?"
Policy relevance: We emphasize what policymakers can and should do about the issues we discuss
Areas we are particularly focused on are:
AI governance, regulation and lobbying
AI progress and risks
Frontier AI companies
Societal impact of transformative AI
The above list is not necessarily exhaustive, but it does provide an idea of the kinds of stories we are thinking about when we commission. We suggest you read our recent pieces to get an idea of what we’re looking for.
How to pitch
If you’ve got an idea for a story or piece you think will suit Transformer, please send an email to our managing editor Jasper Jackson at jasper@transformernews.ai with:
A top line of what the proposed piece is about This should be a story or argument, not a topic area.
A couple of paragraphs outlining what the main thrust of the piece would be.
Why you think you’d be a good person to deliver it.
Some examples of people you might try to speak to for the piece.
One or two relevant examples of journalism you’ve done previously.
We try to get back to everyone who pitches, but sometimes volumes of incoming emails are high. Feel free to chase if you haven’t heard from us in a couple of days, but if there’s no response after that it’s likely we felt the pitch wasn’t one for us.
Rates
Our rates vary based on how much work is likely to be involved, and are not just based on word length. A deeply reported feature uncovering new information will likely take a lot longer than a piece of analysis that draws mainly on existing published information. We try to pay accordingly.
We believe our pay rates are above industry average, but if what we offer doesn’t seem to match how much work you think will be required then we won’t be offended if you tell us so!
Opinion pieces
Transformer publishes op-eds from the leading thinkers in AI, whether that be people in industry, policy, academia or elsewhere. Our focus areas for op-eds are similar to our main coverage:
AI governance, regulation and lobbying
AI progress and risks
Frontier AI companies
Societal impact of transformative AI
The ideal Transformer op-ed is 800 words, and is an intellectually rigorous and forward-looking piece about artificial intelligence and its implications. Op-eds should make a clear argument and, ideally, have actionable suggestions for what our readers (many of them working in AI policy and industry) should do.
Ideally, the piece will also be newsworthy in some way, such as tied to a recent event or published alongside a new paper or announcement.
If you’re interested in writing an op-ed for Transformer, please send an email to our opinion editor Jamie Condliffe at jamie@transformernews.ai with:
A top line of what the proposed piece is about. This should be a clear argument, not a topic area.
A couple of paragraphs outlining what the main thrust of the piece would be.
Why you think you’d be a good person to deliver it.
We try to get back to everyone who pitches, but sometimes volumes of incoming emails are high.
We pay a standard honorarium of $200 for op-eds.