Before you pitch to us, please take a few minutes to read through this guide that includes recommendations and key information on who to approach. We look forward to hearing from you and (hopefully) working with you!

About The New Humanitarian

What does The New Humanitarian cover?

As our name suggests, our key focus is on producing stories from the heart of conflicts and disasters to build understanding of how to improve the lives of the millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the world.

But what do we mean by a humanitarian crisis?

We define a humanitarian crisis as a singular event or a series of events that threatens the lives, safety, livelihoods, and access to basic services of a large group of people, particularly in fragile, unstable, and vulnerable environments.

However, our coverage breaks beyond this definition. It takes a holistic view of humanitarian crises, from emerging and protracted conflicts to the human face of the climate crisis, from refugee issues and migrant movements to disease outbreaks. We cover policy and practice, from local groups to international actors, from the particular needs of women and girls to the neglected viewpoints of marginalised minorities, from the responsible use of tech and data to the financing of aid work. While striving to hold the existing aid sector and governments accountable for abuses, waste, and inaction, we also explore and interrogate new ways of thinking about humanitarian response.

Types of stories

What angles do we look for?

We seek original, underreported, impactful stories that challenge traditional narratives about aid, crises, and the communities affected. Our reporting highlights underreported angles, explores systemic issues, and embraces the principles of decolonised humanitarian journalism, which include:

• Centring humanity: Seeing people first and foremost as human beings, not just victims or saviours.
• Decentring Western perspectives: Prioritising local and global perspectives while challenging colonial narratives and stereotypes.
• Interrogating power structures: Questioning long-held assumptions about development, poverty, fragility, and humanitarianism.
• Acknowledging colonial legacies: Examining how historical and modern systems of political and economic power reinforce vulnerability.
• Avoiding extractive practices: Engaging communities in identifying impactful coverage and contributing to it in ways they find respectful and meaningful.
• Recognising contributions: Valuing the work of every person who contributes to our reporting.

With these principles in mind, we focus on stories in the following areas:

• Crisis prevention: Exploring disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, and other proactive measures.
• Crisis response: Analysing local and international efforts to address crises, with an emphasis on effectiveness and inclusivity.
• Structural causes: Investigating the root causes of crises, including climate change, inequality, and systemic human rights abuses.
• Long-term impacts: Documenting the legacies of crises, such as reconstruction, reconciliation, and recovery efforts.
• Accountability: Examining why aid isn’t reaching communities, whether due to fraud, mismanagement, or systemic neglect.
• Marginalised voices: Highlighting the perspectives of women, girls, minorities, and other groups often left out of the conversation.
• Aid industry dynamics: Evaluating what works, what doesn’t, and the future of humanitarian response.
• Decolonising narratives: Actively challenging colonial assumptions in both journalism and the aid industry, while promoting fair and authentic representation of the Global Majority and its diaspora.

Formats

The New Humanitarian embraces all forms of storytelling, from traditional news stories to photo essays, from opinion pieces to podcasts, from poetry to live events, so please get in touch with an idea, any idea! Here are some of our main formats:

As mentioned above, we regularly publish other formats, ranging from maps, infographics, and data visualisations to poems or cultural essays and stories focused on films or art adjacent to our humanitarian coverage.

How to pitch to us

A strong pitch should include:

1. A working headline and brief paragraph summarising the story.
2. A clear explanation of why the story matters and its relevance to humanitarian crises.
3. The unique angle you’re bringing to the topic.
4. Details on who you’ll interview and any unique access you have.
5. A risk assessment (if applicable, see below), highlighting potential challenges such as reporting from conflict zones or politically sensitive areas.
6. We prioritise your voice and experiences, and will work with you to tell stories in the clearest possible way. That's why we'd like to hear from you and not AI. Please don't use AI to make your pitches.

Who to pitch to

Our global team of commissioning editors, producers, and reporters – see their titles, pics, and bios here – has a wide range of regional and thematic expertise. Please be sure to check their coverage areas below and send your pitch to the most relevant team member:

Ali Latifi: Asia and the Pacific, also humanitarian Culture and Film

Annie Slemrod: Middle East and North Africa, also Special Projects and Participatory Journalism

Philip Kleinfeld: Africa, also Conflict and Peacebuilding

Obi Anyadike: Africa, also Africa Partnerships

Daniela Mohor: Latin America and the Caribbean

Eric Reidy: Migration, also Palestine and Ukraine

Irwin Loy: Aid Policy

William Worley: Aid Policy, also the Climate Crisis

Patrick Gathara: Media Ethics

Jacob Goldberg: Investigations

Freddie Boswell: Podcasts

Melissa Fundira: Podcasts

Risk assessments

We take the safety of our freelancers seriously. For assignments in high-risk areas or involving sensitive topics, we conduct a thorough risk assessment to evaluate potential dangers and discuss safety measures. 

Freelancers working in their usual residence undergo a lighter review focused on specific risks related to the topic or their personal profile.

Our aim is to ensure all assignments are carefully planned with clear communication about risks and available support.

Pay

Our rates for text stories are 40 cents per published word and $40 per image, but we also negotiate lump sums and day rates for extensive project work. We also pay some expenses when we can, and when the travel is for TNH reporting purposes. Rates for audiovisual work vary depending on the project and should be discussed with the commissioning editor. We are a small non-profit so our means are limited.