There are several ways to connect with our newsroom. We value hearing from our neighbors — whether you have a story idea for our reporters, a personal story to tell or a short take on an issue facing our region.

Beyond reaching out to us directly, you can send us story ideas, questions or tips through the forms below. If the information is sensitive, see the bottom of this page for tips on securely transmitting.

Tips, questions and story ideas

If there’s something happening in your community that deserves coverage or a question you think Public Source reporters should investigate, let us know through our short pitch form.

SHORT PITCH FORM

First-person essays

We regularly publish essays from residents of Southwestern Pennsylvania who want to share a deeply personal story tied to life in our region. Essays are longer, more narrative-driven and go through a collaborative editing process. We also take portraits of our essayists. If you’re interested, reach out with your idea.

SHORT PITCH FORM

Guest commentary

We welcome short commentaries — up to 600 words — from verified residents of the region who want to weigh in on civic issues. These are different from essays: more concise, offering a personal take and meant to spark dialogue. All submissions must be fact-checked, respectful and disclose affiliations. We will not publish rants, partisan or personal attacks, marketing, unverified claims or pieces narrowly focused on a piece of legislation. We will not publish more than two pieces by a single author during any one calendar year, and will not publish commentary that is substantially duplicative of other, recently published material. If your submission is selected, we will edit it and ask you to submit courtesy photos or discuss other potential visuals.

We do not pay for guest commentaries.

SHORT PITCH FORM

Freelance reporting

Public Source works with professional freelancers. If you’re a local journalist with a story idea to pitch, please use our long pitch form. It walks you through the questions we consider when commissioning reported work.

LONG PITCH FORM

We pay for reported stories and essays; rates vary depending on the assignment. Guest commentaries are unpaid contributions, in line with how many outlets handle letters to the editor or short commentary.

Leak to us

Part of our mission at Public Source is to hold those in power accountable. Our community is key in helping us investigate those who breach public trust. If you know of leaders and officials, companies or institutions in the Pittsburgh region abusing power or doing something wrong, we provide guidelines on how to contact us while protecting information you share and your identity. (Remember that no form of communication is 100% safe. Make a plan about how you’ll handle it if someone learns you contacted us.)

DON’Ts

  • Don’t use your work email, computer or nearby post office to contact us.
  • Don’t contact us through social media.
  • Don’t talk about what you’re doing with anyone else.
  • Don’t contact us via a work-issued mobile phone. Try to avoid speaking to us on your home landline.

DOs

  • Message us at PublicSource.412 on Signal — a messaging app that uses end-to-end encryption.
  • You can use Proton, a free encrypted email service; the email to reach us is publicsource412@protonmail.com.
  • Use U.S. mail to send documents. Don’t include a return address; if necessary, put one inside the envelope, not on the outside. Consider mailing it from one town over so the postmark doesn’t show your town. If you plan to communicate with us regularly, consider getting a P.O. box at that site. (Again, do not use a return address.) Our snail-mail address is: Public Source, 1936 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh PA 15219.
  • Send paper documents, or digital media such as CDs and thumb drives. Please include an explanation of what you are sending and why it’s important for the public to see.
  • To communicate with PublicSource via email, set up a new, anonymous account to be used only for our communications. Don’t give your name or any other identifying information. Use a strong password. Use an open wifi network you don’t use regularly, like a coffee shop or a library, when setting up and using the account. (On a home wifi network, it’s easy to trace your location and identity via your IP address.) Ideally, use the anonymous Tor browser — instead of Chrome, Safari or Firefox.
  • Consider buying a burner phone. Use cash.

(The above list was originally compiled by InsideClimate News and adapted for Public Source’s use.)