There have been some questions about how topic selection works, and I think it's best explained by describing our process.
On Monday morning I have a meeting with our editor and we review topics we need covered in the upcoming week. Then we go through the list and match up the topics with our writing staff. We try to match topics to the writers most capable of covering it. The topics won't necessarily be directly in their wheelhouse, but we try to respect their interests and abilities.
Sometimes the topics will be related to what the author wrote the week before. And sometimes our writers come up with their own topics. It tends to work out in the end for most.
But the big caveat is that writing is work, and regularly our writers have to write about things they're not really into. For instance, we don't have a hockey buff on staff, and someone has to cover the upcoming NHL season and related releases. We didn't have a pokemon expert, so someone had to do the homework and write up poke. We need to cover timely/trending topics, but that doesn't mean we don't value an article (or a few) about 1895 Mayo's. We seek a balance.
Hope that helps you understand what you might be getting yourself into. If you're on the fence / have questions, please reach out.
Anyone who PM'd me who hasn't heard back - I'll get back to you tomorrow.
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