Local Freelance Journalism and America's 250th

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the American Academy of Arts and Science has launched a national showcase for local freelance journalism.

The Academy seeks to support the important role that local freelance journalism plays in a healthy constitutional democracy by recognizing outstanding community-based journalism projects that explore our nation’s story and its founding ideals.

We seek pitches about a wide variety of communities across the country, showing how they are living out the Declaration’s themes of freedom, equality, democracy, disagreement, collaboration, history, and the meaning of being American.

The Academy is paying a rate of $1 per word with the expectation of commissioning 10-12 stories ranging from 500-2000 words. You will retain full copyright and therefore the ability to publish in other outlets simultaneously.

Exemplary published projects will appear on a showcase website. A smaller selection of reporters and editors will be honored at a dinner and will discuss civic journalism with a panel of outstanding journalists, historians, and civic engagement experts, including Deborah Fallows, James Fallows, Kimberly Atkins Stohr, and Ted Johnson.

The Academy was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, and 60 other scholar-patriots who understood that gathering knowledge and advancing learning in service of the public good would be key to building a new and durable nation.

DEADLINE: Send your pitches to ourcommonpurpose@amacad.org by March 30, 2026. Assignments will be made in April, and we will notify you if your pitch is not selected. First drafts will be due within 3-5 weeks of assignment.

Criteria

The Academy will select stories that:

Follow basic journalism principles, including accuracy, openness, diversity of sources, clarity, and lively storytelling. 
Focus on community efforts to find common ground. 
Reveal a mix of conflict and collaboration over key civic principles, personalities, or purposes. 
Reveal and evoke a corner of American identity that might not otherwise be well known. 
Grapple with some of the key ideas in the Declaration of Independence, as outlined in the resources below.

Possible Projects

This list is suggestive, not exhaustive. The Academy hopes to be surprised by the stories and communities that are revealed. 

Cover your community’s 250th event. You may wish to explore how those involved work together; how community members participate in and reflect on the Declaration’s principles or the history of the community; or some other approach. 
Report on civic democracy in action. This might be a controversy or community effort about a planned public speaker, a local monument, a clinic, an imminent foreclosure or eviction, water rights, a community garden. We seek stories that exemplify ideas about life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and self-government. 
Tell a story of competing historical narratives. How do different parts of the community tell the history of, say, a historic log cabin, an annual fireworks display, a dilapidated house of worship, a well-known barbecue joint, a hiking trail? 
Convene a community discussion of the Declaration of Independence’s principles. Ask key questions about liberty, equality, self-government, and freedom. Report on the common themes, surprises, disagreements, conflicts, and civic willingness (or lack thereof) that you find.

How do you define American community?

Define American community as you wish, so long as those involved perceive themselves as belonging to a meaningfully connected community. That might include geography, interests (Scrabble, stock car racing, spelunking), ethnic heritage, religious identity, native language, or occupation. Your stories might involve a town hall, barbershop, library, school, sports league, historical society, farmers’ cooperative, veterans’ group, community nonprofit, congregation, community theater, local band, basketball court, public park, quilting group, bodega, or something entirely different. We seek to showcase what the Declaration of Independence means in a broad variety of American communities. 

What do you mean by the Declaration of Independence's principles?

Here is the full text of the Declaration of Independence. For our purposes, the Declaration includes these key ideas:

All human beings have natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Questions to consider: What do these mean to different people in the community you’re covering?
The governed choose the form of government they believe will guarantee their own safety and happiness. Questions to consider: How does the community agree or disagree on what these things mean? How do they govern their joint project?
Changing one’s government requires good cause, including a list of grievances. Questions to consider: What grievances is your community tackling together?
Those who will govern together pledge to work honorably with one another. Questions to consider: What does working together across differences look like in your story?

Recognition Categories

Video (single episode or series) of between four and 60 minutes, total. Short videos (TikTok- or Instagram reel-length) are acceptable if they are included in a cohesive series. 
Audio only (single episode or podcast or radio series) of between four and 60 minutes long, total. 
Photo essay (including captions, information, any necessary permissions, and a short explanatory essay of up to 500 words) of between five and 20 photos. 
Writing (print or online, single essay or series) of between 800 and 2500 words. 
Mixed media, including several of the above elements, with a comparable amount of material.

Submission Requirements

Describe the community and the dilemma, project, or conversation you will cover.
Explain what’s interesting about the main characters you will feature.
Tell us how this embodies ideas from the Declaration of Independence.
Establish that you are the best person to report this story.
Share 3-5 stories that show your strengths

DEADLINE: Send your pitches to ourcommonpurpose@amacad.org by March 30, 2026. Assignments will be made in April, and we will notify you if your pitch is not selected. First drafts will be due within 3-5 weeks of assignment.