Eco online

Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Eco. Please read the following guidelines to help with your submission.

Publications: Eco News (print version) and Eco online. When referring to both the term Eco, may be used.

Publisher: Sunshine Coast Environment Council Inc.

Circulation: 15,000 to 20,000 bi-monthly

Cost: Free

Target Readership (print edition): Residents of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. As you would expect, the target readership of the online version is not limited by geography, although we do focus on Australian stories.

Topics: Environment and conservation

Contact: visit our contact page

Submitting

Please study previous editions of the print version or Eco online before submitting material for consideration.

Eco news and Eco online accepts articles, reviews, interviews and digital photographs and illustrations.

We do accept unsolicited material, however Eco news always has the main body of the print edition dedicated to a theme, (for example, consumerism, sustainable transport, climate change, etc). The online version operates on an ongoing basis and articles do not necessarily need to fit with a particular theme.

The readership is mainly from Gympie to Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Therefore articles should have a local slant, or be applicable to the theme by providing other appropriate information. Articles with a broader geographical focus outside the print edition's distribution area are also considered and may be used in the online version.

Contact the editor to gain an idea of upcoming themes and discuss your ideas.

Submit your contribution via email as a Word document and place your name on each page and provide a suggested title. Submit all material prior to the deadline. NOTE: To help our editorial team, all written contributions should come complete with digital photographs where available.

General style and tone

Write with the reader in mind in a style typical of many of Australia's broadsheet newspapers. We aim to reach a broad audience, therefore please avoid jargon or overly technical terms without clear explanation. If applicable, provide a fact box containing other useful information, further reading and internet addresses.

Quotes and italics

Use double quote marks for direct speech. Use italics for book titles, newspapers, foreign words and double check spelling of names.

Word count

Word count varies from 500 to 1200 words.

Australian English

Eco news and Eco online aims to use Australian English, based upon popular common usage. A suggested online spelling guide is the ABC's Radio National Style Guide.

Note: Please be aware of Eco's style when using quotes as this varies from the Radio National Guide.

Acceptance

While the editor may encourage a contributor to submit material, or may show an interest in material, this should not be construed as acceptance for publication.

Eco reserves the right to edit all material submitted for style, length and tone. If accepted, your submission may appear in the Sunshine Coast Eco news and/or Eco online.

Copyright

Copyright remains with the author. Articles may be reproduced elsewhere but we ask that Eco News is attributed with first publication. If the article is to be reproduced online please attribute to Eco online with the address http://econews.org.au or a direct link to the original article's web address, if available.

Photography and illustrations

We use digital photographs and illustrations at 300dpi in jpg format. Images off the web, or from digital cameras set on low quality, are usually only 72dpi and cannot be reproduced in print.

Photographs: Where possible supply at least four images with suggested captions, the photographer's name and any copyright information. Put this information in the same document as the article with a clear link between caption and file name.

Submit via email in jpg format and ensure individual file sizes are no larger then 2Mb.

Payment

As Eco is a free, community-based publication we cannot offer payment at this stage. However, the author will be provided with a byline and, if not appearing in Eco online, a digital tear sheet (pdf file) can be provided on request.