Everyone can contribute to Headwaters News

You can add to the discussion, discourse and dissemination of information and ideas about the Rocky Mountain West by being a contributor or citizen journalist for Headwaters News. By contributing to Headwater News, you can share your insights and stories with other people who care about this region, and who are working every day to continue to make it better. We suggest you be familiar with our site and sections before inquiring about a contribution. But that being said, we always welcome questions and ideas. So, go ahead, let us hear your ideas.

Letter to the editor — sound off on issues and events that are important to you

Western Perspective — share your insights and ideas about a particular newsworthy topic

A Look Ahead — provide readers with a preview of important regional conferences

New Voices/New West — featuring writing from the region's top students

Letters to the editor — Most letters are between 300 and 600 words and are written in response to a story, column, or op-ed published on Headwaters. They're usually longer than a comment post and shorter than a column. Send along your letter to the editor, and we can usually post it on the next news day.

Western Perspective — This bimonthly perspective page melds thoughtful analysis of timely issues with additional context and background in an interactive forum. Columns are well-researched, well-reasoned, professional in tone and run about 1,500 words on a mutually agreed upon topic by the deadline assigned. They are also accompanied by a news analysis of the issue written by one of the editors. Please submit a couple of paragraphs a week or so ahead of your deadline to give us a more precise idea of your focus and to use in our promotions.

Though the range of topics is open and unlimited, we are especially interested in analysis of current issues, success stories of collaborative projects and innovative approaches to tackling the challenges facing our region.

Columnists are given the opportunity to write two additional blogs to follow the original. These are shorter, 750-word-or-so columns that add depth to the discussion; bring in new articles, research, or developments; address closely related facets; or otherwise enlighten and deepen the debate.

A Look Ahead — This feature provides organizers of regional conferences, seminars and symposiums an opportunity to promote their events with a column and a listing on our events calendar, which appears on our home page. Columns are usually between 1,000 and 1,200 words and set out the subject matter of the conference, who organizers believe would be interested in attending and how the conference applies to the Rocky Mountain Region as a whole.

Submissions should include links to online registration sites, online agenda, and if possible any logo or artwork depicting the conference that we could use on our site. The columns, artwork and information should be submitted sufficiently in advance of the event so that those who want to can attend and take advantage of early registration dates.

New Voices/New West — In the past, the primary contributors to this section have been students from the University of Montana journalism school. But it is open to any undergraduate or graduate student writing nonfiction pieces about the region, regardless of their school or area of study. If you're interested in submitting a class project, a thesis, or other writing project, or have students who might be, please let us know.

Send your ideas to Shellie Nelson, editor, or Daniel Berger, assistant editor