Submit to the Bard Observer

First published in 1956, the Bard Observer is a student-led campus wide newspaper, covering everything from national elections to SMOG revelry. As a forum, inside joke, art piece, and news source, the paper served as a nexus for the Bard community. 

After over a decade-long hiatus, the Observer returned to campus last semester. This year, more issues, contributors, and coverage are coming your way. 

And we want to hear from you! 

This Issue’s Theme Is: “Faithful to the Truth”
As journalists, writers, readers, and citizens, what is our responsibility to the truth? Journalism protects its readers by arming them with hard facts; but truth also permeates cultural criticism in the form of subversive comedy, satire, mockumentaries, social media, and podcasts. In a world saturated with ‘fake news’, Big Tech algorithms, censorship, and deep fakes, what forms of dialogue do we gravitate towards to better understand and connect with reality? 

What to Submit
Pitches: For reportage, reviews, profiles, and opinions, please send a pitch of 100-300 words. A good pitch will summarize the central question/topic of the piece, as well as its importance/relevance in current society, Bard and otherwise. If possible, include a description of the event you are interested in pursuing, how you will proceed in the writing and researching process, people you will interview, what makes you the right writer for the piece, and expected word count. 

Visual Art: Submissions are open for digital and film photography, digitized paintings, drawings, and media of at least 300 dpi. 

Poster Contest: The Observer will feature and print one visual art piece at 12x22” in each issue. Photography, digitized paintings, drawings, and media submissions will be anonymously judged and selected by the Observer staff. Winner gets free print, publication, and distribution of their work to our 2,000+ readers. 

Ask the Oracle
Submit anonymous questions on relationships, school, existential angst, etc. to be answered by the Oracle of Delphi here.

Join the Observer
If the last issue left you riveted, angered, or excited, come join the team! Send us a pitch (reportage, opinion, art, etc.) and in your email, indicate your interest in joining and what you would like to do at the paper. We meet on Fridays at 5:00 pm EST (over Zoom and in person) and are in need of the following positions:

• Column writers who would like to cover Annandale’s local politics, Bard’s NY campus and campuses abroad (Bard Berlin, Bishkek, Al-Quds, Vienna), Bard Prison Initiative, and more
• Editorial Team Members who enjoy proofing and copy-editing incoming pieces
• Advertising Correspondents to aid with fundraising and outreach 
• Photographers or illustrators

Submissions can be sent to Sage Rudolf at [email protected] with the subject line “Observer Submission Fall 2023 (last name).” Pitches are due October 19, 2023, and final draft deadlines are assigned on a rolling basis. You will be notified if your work is selected for print in this issue. 

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For more information, call 845-758-6822.

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