The Durango Guardian is all about citizen journalism. We believe there are many talented writers out there who have much to contribute, and in this age of media control by only a few large corporations, the public needs to hear from you now more than ever.

Your article can be a news story (Citizen News), a local business update (Business News), or an opinion piece (Local Voices). Even if you have never written for a publication, you can do it with a little practice, and we can help by editting and making recommendations.

For certain stories that we want specifically covered, we will contract with independent writers, so get in touch with us.

Accordingly, we have developed some Writing Guidelines which will be helpful to the novice and will also serve as a good reminder to the seasoned journalist. The Durango Guardian requires a few items to be submitted with every story, so please do take the time to read through these guidelines.

We require the following with all news article submissions:

• For our internal files only, not for publication: Author's first and last name, home address, telephone and email.
• Short paragraph about the author.
• A headline that says it all or that will capture the reader’s attention.
• The first paragraph as a lead-in summary of what the reader can expect to find by continuing to read.
• Sources and quotes cited — where you found the facts, figures, details.

To submit an article:

• In your word processor, save your document as a text file (.txt extension: File, Save As, Save As Type "Plain Text").
• Email it as a file attachment.

We'll be in touch with you within a few days. If you don't hear back from us after a week, feel free to contact us.