Episcopal News Service Submission Guidelines

Submit a news tip or unique story idea

Episcopal News Service offers in-depth reporting and analysis of local, regional, national and international news for Episcopalians and others interested in the church’s mission and ministry.

ENS welcomes submissions, including live event coverage, news stories, feature articles. Contact an ENS editor before submitting your story to discuss relevance, the appropriate angle, word count, deadline and photo opportunities. (Please note: ENS does not publish first-person or opinion pieces.)

Your submission must be submitted electronically and include:

  • Name and contact information.
  • A brief summary of who you are. For example: “Jane Doe is a member of St. Bart’s Episcopal Church in Hot Coffee, Mississippi, and serves on the Jubilee committee.”
  • Submitted articles (see criteria below) must be complete and include a title. All articles must be reported in news style (using the Associated Press Stylebook as a guideline) and include attributions and direct quotations.
  • Photos* should accompany the article and come with a description explaining what is being displayed.

A basic news story should be written in the third person and establish who, what, where, when and why up front. For stories that generate opposing viewpoints, it is expected that a diversity of voices be represented in the article to ensure balanced coverage. All coverage of live events must be submitted within two days. ENS editors reserve the right to edit articles. Publication of all submissions is at the discretion of the editors.

  • Stories must have churchwide interest and/or impact and be timely. Stories may cover many topics, including but not limited to: trends, innovations, evangelism, the church’s response to current events, mission work, ecumenism, advocacy, peace and justice, social justice, environment, science, technology, women’s issues, employment, popular culture, etc.
  • News from dioceses and parishes around the Episcopal Church must appeal to a wider audience: stories about what makes your ministry/approach unique, particular insights and regional peculiarities.
  • People news may be about prominent religious figures known at the regional, national and international level, including, for example, Episcopal and Anglican bishops, ecumenical leaders, Episcopal Church Center staff, recognized national contributors and prominent public figures.
  • Fundraising – On occasion, ENS publishes stories in response to fundraising appeals on a case-by-case basis. The stories typically include a church-wide or communion-wide appeal.

Contact Lynette Wilson with news and other story ideas at lwilson@episcopalchurch.org.

* Photos – All live events, feature and news stories must include at least one high-resolution photo (set your camera to take photos in the largest image size possible) and a caption, unless otherwise discussed with an ENS editor. A good photo shows action and illustrates the story. And while some photos can be technically improved in the editing process, a good photo begins with good light. Captions must include the first and last name of people pictured (when possible and appropriate); identifying people from left to right. Also, include the name of the photographer.