We welcome all citizens to share their stories about this city.

What can you write about?

We look for ideas for stories that other citizens will find useful or enjoyable. Sometimes there is no point writing about the obvious. For example, enough stories have been written about the traffic situation. But if you have a particular angle about an issue that has not been covered, or a lead about somebody who is working to solve a problem, that works.

When you submit articles

Please introduce yourself and your interest in the material you are submitting. Also include some background on the material if it is not entirely self-explanatory. Note you have to use your real name and take the Citizen Journalism pledge.

Read our style guide:

We encourage all citizen journalists to use this style guide. Make sure you set your word processor’s dictionary to UK-style English and not US English.

Submitting your work

You can submit your articles here. You can add supporting images and documents.

Exclusive material, and republications

In submitting an article you must indicate clearly whether you wish your material to be published exclusively in Citizen Matters, or if it has already been submitted/accepted for publication elsewhere.

We normally do not republish from blogs or other sources. As a news media operation, we focus on original content.

Copyrights and Republication

Copyright for material that is published exclusively is held jointly by Citizen Matters and the authors.

Permission to republish: Authors must refer all requests for republication to Citizen Matters, and must not grant such requests without CM’s informed consent.

Citation: All republished articles must include the following citation: “This article was first published in Citizen Matters (www.citizenmatters.in) and is republished here with permission”.

Requests for republication must specifically identify the article under consideration. Otherwise we will not be able to respond.

Copies: When republication is in print, we ask that the publisher mail a soft copy of the print publication page to us. When the republication is online, we ask that the publisher e-mail us a note with the link of the article.

Responsiveness and silence: Citizen Matters will make all efforts to respond within a week of receiving a legitimate republication request. A lack of response must be construed as a NO, not a yes.

Citizen Journalism Pledge

I promise to adhere to the following principles in my submissions to Citizen Matters:

  • Fairness: I will listen and take in to account divergent viewpoints;
  • Accuracy: I will get it right, checking my facts, correcting errors promptly and incorporating new and relevant information as and when I obtain them;
  • Thoroughness: I will gather and learn as much as possible in the given time about my topic and list the original source when available;
  • Independance and Transparency: I will aim to be independant in my views; Otherwise, I will explain my biases and conflicts, where appropriate. I will have no significant financial or otherwise direct connection (membership, affiliation, close relationship, etc.) with an interested party. If I do have such connections, I’ll disclose them prominently, and my work may be labeled and/or categorized appropriately.

I will operate with integrity and work in the community interest.

I agree, as an active member of this community, to help uphold the integrity of this pledge by challenging and reporting inappropriate postings or abuse.