Thanks for applying for the position. Whereas for many jobs you may have a few 1 hour interviews before getting the job, we instead ask you for a sample which takes most people 30-60 minutes to complete. We need that sample since we do find that is the best way to judge and we do get some people who apply with old samples that don't actually represent their work. People have many different writing styles and we look for a very specific writing style and for someone who can closely follow the format presented. So while the content you write might be great, it may not fit exactly what we need. The biggest reason for declining is mistakes in the writing sample, or not following the format. If you felt your writing sample was spot on, it is more likely you have a writing style that can be difficult to fit into the tight rules of some of the news sites we publish too, which is more about their strict rules than your writing ability.