There’s a story here.
A public record. A decision nobody has explained. A piece of local history that deserves another look. Point us toward the question.
A lead is a starting point. Evidence takes it further.
The Salty RagIndependent Gulf Coast Journalism
This is an ordinary story-lead draft tool, not a secure dropbox. It does not offer anonymity, encrypted source intake, or a confidentiality agreement. Do not upload or paste sensitive records here. No files are accepted.
A useful lead gives us something to check.
You do not have to write the article. Help us see the question, the place, and the path to a verifiable answer.
Name the place.
Give the town, county, agency, public meeting, or stretch of waterfront involved. Include the relevant dates.
Explain the stakes.
Who is affected? What decision, public expense, safety issue, or overlooked history should people understand?
Point to the record.
Public meeting minutes, a contract number, an agenda, a map, or an archive reference can be more useful than a chain of forwarded claims.
Distinguish what you witnessed from what someone told you and what you suspect. A disagreement with a private person is not, by itself, a public-interest story. Avoid unnecessary personal details about people who are not central to the issue.
The kinds of leads worth a look.
Public decisions
Budgets, development proposals, contracts, public access, and the difference between a promise and the record.
People and places
A disappearing trade, a working waterfront, a neighborhood change, or a local institution with a deeper story.
Regional history
Uncataloged public records, an overlooked archive, an old route, or a well-known story the documents complicate.
Something we missed
A perspective, source, or piece of context that could make an existing story more complete.
Source safety comes before the form.
Leaving the name field blank is not a promise of anonymity. Ordinary email can identify a sender, and a hosting service may log visits. Do not assume a workplace device, a shared account, or a monitored network is private.
Do not place confidential files, private cloud links, account credentials, or identifying details into this tool. If disclosure could put you or someone else at risk, pause and get advice appropriate to the situation before making contact. No “off the record” or anonymity arrangement is accepted automatically by a label in a message.
Independent background: Freedom of the Press Foundation’s SecureDrop source guide. The Salty Rag does not operate a SecureDrop instance in this build; that link is guidance, not a submission channel for this publication.
Story lead
Start with the essentials. Fields marked required help make the draft useful.
Not an anonymous or confidential channel. Leave out sensitive records and identifying details that could put someone at risk. No file uploads.
What happens after a lead reaches a newsroom?
The reporting process starts by checking the basic facts and finding the underlying record. A tip is not proof, and an allegation is not a finding. A reporter may need follow-up details, independent sources, or a response from the people or organizations involved.
Publication is not guaranteed. Do not rely on this website for an urgent response or assume that preparing, copying, or downloading a draft sends it anywhere. Opening a mail-app draft still leaves you responsible for reviewing and sending it.