Sustainability Magazine
Environmental Charter / Sustainability Institute / Finance / Subscriptions / Policy on Advertisements / Publication Schedule / Information for Contributors/ Issue one / Issue two
Information for Contributors
Journalistic Standards
We are aiming for very high standards of writing, with emphasis being on clarity, good use of language and accessibility to the reader. We regard dense technical works written in impenetrable technical jargon as something to be avoided at all costs. Equally, we expect each word to count; we urge would-be contributors to keep their waffle detectors at their most sensitive settings at all times, and to prune away any surplus material which does not serve a useful purpose or which only distracts from the main thrust of the text.
That said, we have no objection to personal opinions being expressed, provided they are supported by good argument! Our only request here is that material is not libellous and that insults of a personal nature are avoided.
Target Audience
The impending chaos which will result from fossil fuel depletion and permanent climate change only serves to highlight the urgent need for more good accurate information on issues pertaining to sustainability. While this need is partially served by the growing number of very good sources on the internet, the old fashioned ‘hard copy’ is still hard to beat. Perhaps one of the downsides of the internet is its very accessibility: Literally anyone can post anything so it is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. On the positive side, mistakes can be corrected easily and inaccuracies refuted. With a printed medium we are only too aware of the dangers of getting our facts wrong and no more so than when dealing with the many different units of measurement used to quantity carbon emissions, energy use or resource depletion.
We note that these days it seems almost everything is ‘eco-friendly’, ‘green’ or the like, and often these words are little more than camouflage for practises which are anything but friendly. We have taken a conscious decision not to use the word ‘eco’ unless it is unambiguously clear what it is supposed to mean.
Sustainability is specifically aimed at the people who are genuinely concerned about the totally unsustainable nature of our relationship with the rest of the planet, but either are confused by the bewildering barrage of contradictory information or simply don’t know what to do about it. Our role is to provide a little clarity on these issues. The people we are targeting are the ones who will help determine in which direction our society will go in the next couple of decades. It includes those who are working towards change at a personal, grass roots or community level. Most pertinently, it includes those younger people who will face the daunting task of trying to ensure that the project which we call civilisation may continue.
Length of Articles and Subject Matter
The format of Sustainability lends itself to two or three page articles containing 1300-2000 words. We advise would-be contributors to discuss proposed articles with us in well in advance of our copy deadline. We do not guarantee to publish any article sent to us. The final decisions concerning inclusion will be made on an individual basis, but where we have requested the article ourselves, any decision not to include the piece will only be made after discussions with the author, in order to resolve whatever difficulty may have arisen.
We also reserve the right to edit or alter material sent to us, in the interests of brevity, greater clarity or good use of language. We will however discuss any proposed substantial alterations with the author of the article in advance of these being undertaken, and the author will have the opportunity to see and give approval to the modified work prior to its inclusion in the publication. Any technical data provided will be cross checked, insofar as is possible, to avoid mistakes and/or inaccuracies. Articles should be supported by photos, graphs, charts, sketches or other art work relevant to the subject matter. Cartoons are also welcome.
Sources should be listed at the bottom of the piece. Full credit will be given to the author, and we would welcome a short bio from each author which we will include with the piece.
In order to allow ample time for editing work and for consultation with the authors of articles, the copy deadline for Issue 2 is 8th June 2007. Typically, it takes three to four weeks to process an article, check sources, suggest revisions and type up the final version.
News Items
While we welcome news items, our editorial policy is that we will not carry news stories in the magazine unless they are of special significance and need to be brought to the attention of readers. An example of this is the recent IPCC report on Climate Change, which we have referred to in Issue One.
We are happy to post other news items on the website, or to provide a link to the source article.
Sending Material
Material can be send to us by email or burned onto CD and posted to:
Andy Wilson
Sustainability Magazine
Corrig
Sandyhill
Westport
Co Mayo.
Please keep an original of the piece, hard copy if possible, to provide insurance against unforeseen loss or accident.
We look forward to your participation in what we feel is a very exciting project.
