Pitch
Send us the serious, strange, stubborn ideas: reported essays, investigations, criticism, interviews, podcasts, videos, newsletters, and projects that need a home, a shape, or a smarter path into the world.
Amphibian is a small company with a big appetite for serious, strange, necessary work.
We want to hear from journalists, writers, critics, researchers, producers, and obsessive people with real stories to tell. Reported essays, investigations, profiles, podcast concepts, video ideas, documentary projects, cultural arguments — or something that hasn't found the right container yet.
We're especially interested in work about power, money, violence, belief, media, music, politics, justice, technology, and the machinery underneath ordinary life. Stories with stakes. Characters with contradictions. Reporting that goes somewhere.
We're an independent, upstart media company. Rates will usually be more modest than the big places. But we offer freedom, collaboration, editorial seriousness, and a willingness to help good ideas find the right shape — whether that means publishing it ourselves, sharpening a pitch for somewhere else, or developing it into a larger project.
What to send
Keep the pitch to around 300 words. Include:
- Headline. One sentence that captures the story.
- Synopsis. What's the story, why does it matter, and what makes it different from what already exists?
- Sources. Who would you talk to? Doesn't need to be exhaustive — just show the story can be reported.
- Format. Written piece, podcast, video, newsletter, series, or something else?
- Status. How far along is it? Has it been pitched elsewhere? Is there a timely hook?
- About you. A few lines and links to relevant work.
A note on money
We pay when we can, and we'll be direct about what's possible before anyone does real work. If a project doesn't make financial sense, we'll say so. If we think the idea belongs somewhere else, we may say that too.
Send pitches to Matt Stroud via matt AT amphibian DOT media.