Data-Driven Reporting — Funded Assignment
Help Humanize LGBTQ+ Health Data
All experience levels
No journalism degree required
Rolling deadline
Queer Kentucky co-publishes the only longitudinal health survey of LGBTQ+ Kentuckians. Over 4,100 respondents. 76 Kentucky counties. 31 Appalachian counties. Two years of data. More stories than we can tell alone.
We are opening funded assignments to writers who can take research and make it real. You do not need to be a journalist. You need to be an excellent writer who can hold complexity without losing readers.
What We’re Looking For
Stories that humanize the numbers
This isn’t about charts and methodology. It’s about what the data reveals about queer Kentuckians’ lives, and finding the people whose stories bring those findings to life.
Pitches that go anywhere the data goes
Our survey covered belonging, discrimination, harm reduction, sexual health, mental health, and even how reading stories like ours impacts LGBTQ+ folks across the state. Nothing is off the table.
Writers who want to collaborate
Don’t have a fully formed pitch yet? That’s okay. We have a few stories in mind that we need talented writers for. Tell us what interests you and we can go from there.
We are looking for:
- Data-driven stories that are accessible, engaging, and built for a general audience
- Writers who can hold complexity without losing readers
- Community members, advocates, journalists, and storytellers of all kinds
- Excellent writing. Not academic writing.
About the Survey Data
Queer Kentucky co-publishes the only longitudinal health survey of LGBTQ+ Kentuckians. Our 2024 data dashboard is live on our website. Our 2025 survey results are coming soon.
Funded writers will have access to the full dataset and to our research team. We will help you find the story in the numbers. You bring the writing and the curiosity.
Format and Compensation
| Rate $150 to $250 per story |
Publication Digital. Published online and shared across all platforms and with our republishing partners. |
| Format Reported stories. We accept a very limited number of first-person articles. |
Deadline Rolling. |
On AI: We do not accept pitches, outlines, drafts, or stories where AI was used at any stage, including research, writing, outlining, or fact-checking. The idea, reporting, structure, and argument must be entirely your own.
Ready to Pitch?
Tell us what part of the data interests you, what story you see in it, and who you’d want to talk to. Not sure where to start? Say that in your pitch. We’ll point you toward the data and talk through story ideas together.
Questions? Email [email protected].
