Writing for organisations

Sometimes an organisation knows there is something worth looking at, but does not yet know if there is a story in it. That is where I can help.

I do a small amount of commissioned work for foundations, charities and research organisations alongside my journalism. It might be a reported feature for your own publication. It might be a couple of days going through documents to work out whether the idea stands up before you commission the full thing. I also do briefings when the subject is complicated and the useful job is simply to make it understandable.

Earlier this year, a foundation asked me to spend two days looking at a fisheries bill. I went in expecting one story and came back with a smaller one. My memo set out what the documents supported, what they did not, and where more reporting would be needed. The feature went ahead, with the funding disclosed.

What I can do

• Reported features for an organisation's own publication or website, where I can approach the piece as journalism rather than comms.
• Short scoping commissions to work out whether a story is actually there before you spend money on the full piece.
• Briefings on policy, science or regulation when the subject is dense and somebody needs to explain what is really going on.
• Foundation-funded investigations for an external publication or Ocean Rising, with the funding disclosed.

What I will not do

• Press releases, brochures, fundraising copy or general website copy. There are good copywriters for that, and I am not one of them.
• Work for the fishing, mining or whaling industries, or for organisations they fund.
• Work on whaling or captivity campaigns where my role at Whale and Dolphin Conservation creates a conflict.
• Start with the conclusion already decided. If two days of reporting tells me there is not really a story there, I will tell you that.

How it works

Send me the question, what you are hoping to find out, who it is for and when you need it. I will tell you what I think the job needs, whether I can take it and what it will cost. I quote either by the piece or by the day. If the work is published, the funding arrangement is disclosed.