Submitting Articles to Basics

So you want to help build Basics by producing some original content?  Great!  This is a brief guide to what Basics is looking for in terms of content and style.

Mission statement of Basics CNS:  “To provide independent media that encourages meaningful discussion and organization around the issues facing working class communities.”

Basics CNS is part of the committed press: we are openly on the side of the people and against the system that exploits them and the state that oppresses them.  We believe that the people need to organize to defend their rights and to build a just society.

Choosing a Story to Cover

As a people’s media organization, what Basics considers newsworthy is different from the elite-controlled media.  We want to expose how the people are exploited and oppressed, what they can do about it, and inspire them with the successes of people’s movements at home and around the world.

In our domestic coverage we are especially looking for stories that expose:

• community issues that are most urgent to the people, as identified through on-the-ground social investigation
• the complicity of the government for people’s troubles and the failure of the state to help the people
• the struggles of indigenous people

For our international coverage we prioritize:

• demonstrating how the Canadian state, military, banks, and major corporations exploit and oppress the peoples of the Third World
• promoting and popularizing the most important and successful peoples struggles

For our cultural content we seek to:

• provide political content in more diverse and accessible forms
• encourage the development of progressive peoples culture
• criticize reactionary culture

Articles that focus on history should:

• promote a greater understanding of the history of class forces and national struggles in Canadian history
• demonstrate the successes and failures of the mass movements in the past so that the people can build on strengths and overcome weaknesses

Writing Style

Basics is intended for the people and must be accessible to the people.  It should also be stimulating, both intellectually and emotionally, and move the people to take action.

Things to avoid:

• jargon, academic, or technical language
• unexplained acronyms
• toss-off references to obscure historical events or individuals

Things to do:

• translate advanced concepts into common language
• check the reading level of your article by running it through an online readability index calculator
• stay focused and to-the-point
• avoid rhetoric and lecturing (don’t tell: show)
• if possible, end with a call that lets people know what specific actions they can take about the issue

Comments Policy

Basics CNS welcomes commentary, feedback, and debate on our articles and content.   We ask that comments be kept on-topic and substantive, and that they contribute to a constructive dialogue.

Comments are moderated.  Approval of comments does not imply that Basics CNS endorses their content.  Responsibility for comments rests with their authors.  Please do not post comments that are oppressive, offensive, or insulting.   Basics reserves the right to edit, move, censor, or delete comments as necessary.