When your story lands in an editor’s inbox, you have just seconds to catch their attention and make them want to read more. Then, in the space of just a few short sentences, you have to convince them that your story is the right one for their publication or broadcast and that you’re the best person to write it.
Pitching to a news editor is seldom a journalist’s favourite job. Being so close to your story, it can be hard to step back and pull out the key elements that will make an editor take notice.
A good pitch is brief and to the point – just a couple of paragraphs – that describes your story well enough to convince an editor to commission it and gives enough information about you to make them confident that you are the person to deliver it.
What’s the story?
You’ve been reading about a subject for weeks – academic reports, government studies, NGO findings, articles by other reporters – you’ve been through them all and have the tabs open on your browser to prove it. You’ve spoken to some experts for background and have a couple of on-the-record interviews. In the space of a few weeks, you’ve become an expert in your subject – an asset to any quiz team. You’re ready to put words to paper and share your knowledge with the world.
But have you got a story?
Maybe you have. Maybe you struck gold, and in amongst those government reports, you found a contradiction to what the politicians are saying. Or perhaps one of your experts gave you a tip-off that a certain company that had just been awarded a big contract was owned by the Minister’s son-in-law. If so, lucky you, you’re ready to pitch.
But the chances are you’ve not had such luck and are scrolling through your hundreds of tabs, wondering where to start with your pitch. And the reason you’re struggling is that you don’t have a story, you have a theme. You’ve collected a wide spectrum of knowledge about your subject but you haven’t found the thread to pull to know where to take it.
What makes a story?
The difference between a story and a theme will become clear when you try to describe it. Imagine you’re telling somebody about your research and consider this (made-up) example “it’s about climate change and carbon off-setting by planting trees” compared with “it’s about a company that is off-setting their carbon emissions by planting trees but has inadvertently paid for the planting of an invasive species that is destroying the locals’ crops.”
When writing your pitch, think really carefully about the story you want to tell. Consider what are the main narrative elements:
- Who is the story about?
- Where is it taking place?
- Do you have a main protagonist to tell that story through?
- Are you challenging a company on its practices?
- Do you draw on any data sources?
- Have you secured any ‘big name’ interviewees?
- What access do you have?
And then distil the key parts of this into a few sentences.
Whom to pitch to
Now you’re clear about your story, you’re ready to pitch. But where to?
At this point you’ll need to stop and do some research. What publications or broadcasters do you think would be most interested in your story? Is there a particular section within this that it most ‘fits’? A long and complex story with multiple voices and perspectives might suit a long-read, while a shorter story would be a better fit elsewhere. If it’s an opinion piece or analysis, indicate this when you pitch your idea.
It’s also worth checking back over a few publications or episodes to make sure they’ve not done anything similar recently. If they have, this doesn’t automatically discount your story, but you might want to pitch it – if possible – as a follow-on or update on their previous item.
Now you’ve chosen your publication or broadcaster, check to see if they have submission guidelines. Be sure to follow these if they do. There might also be contact details for specific sections so you can contact an editor directly. Sometimes there is just a generic email for pitches. It’s worth doing a bit of research to find the name of and, ideally, the email address of the section editor so that you can contact them directly.
No matter what process for accepting pitches your chosen outlet prefers, be clear when you send your pitch what section you are pitching for, it shows you’re familiar with the publication or broadcast and have thought about how your story would work for them.
Writing the pitch
If the submission guidelines specify how they want you to submit your pitch, respect them; otherwise, the following should maximise the chance of your pitch being looked at.
Most editors prefer journalists to submit their pitches by email. Make every bit of this email count. It’s always better if you can send it to a person rather than a generic email unless the submission guidelines tell you otherwise. Be clear in the subject line why you’re emailing by using the word ‘pitch’ along with, as succinctly as possible, the topic of your story.
For the pitch itself, you have just a few sentences. You need to be clear about
- the story you want to tell
- why it’s important
- and what new information you can bring to it.
How you write your opening line depends very much on your style of writing. It could be a quote, a finding in the data, a rhetorical question or a summary of your findings. No matter what you write it’s important to be engaging and clear.
Write just enough so the editor understands the story and makes them want to read more. Be clear if your story is time sensitive or if it relates to a particular event, legislation, anniversary, etc.
Explain what section you think your story would fit and why. Outline why you think it’s important to their readers or listeners. If you have an exclusive or a big-name interviewee tell them (but make sure you’ve secured this first).
You then need to convince the editor why you’re the best person to write or produce the story. In a couple of short sentences, summarise your journalistic experience. Tell the editor how long you’ve been writing or broadcasting for. List some of your most recent stories and where they have been published or broadcast. If you have them, include links.
You might also want to link your website, your LinkedIn profile and any professional social media accounts. Expect an editor to check these – particularly if you will be working for the outlet for the first time – so be sure only to share anything that presents you in the best professional light.
Put everything in the body of the email. Nobody wants to have to open attachments, the links are there if the editor wants to find out more.
Thank the editor for taking their time to read your pitch and give them your phone number, making it clear that you’re happy for them to contact you should they have questions or require further information.
You’re now almost ready to press send. But before you do, read over your message again.
- Is it clear?
- Have you included all the key points?
- Have you spelt the editor’s name correctly?
- Have you said what section you’re pitching to?
- Have you checked for typing errors and checked again?
You’re now ready to send your pitch. Good luck!
What next
When or whether you’ll get a response seems to vary from publication to publication and country to country. Again, it’s worth checking the submission guidelines as sometimes they specify how long to wait for a response before assuming it’s a ‘no’.
If you’ve not heard after a week, consider a polite follow-up email or phone call to ask if the editor has any questions or would like further information.
Pitching the same article to more than one publication at the same time is always going to be a risky strategy. No editor will be happy if they want your story only to find that it’s already going to be published elsewhere, and they are unlikely to look favourably on your future pitches.
However, if your story is time-sensitive or you find yourself waiting for a week or long with no response, it’s something you may have to consider.
Pitching email template
To: [Editor’s email]
Subject: Pitch: [Your story in a few words]
Dear [Editor’s name],
[Your story in one or two sentences. What are you planning to tell the audience and how you going to tell it. The information you are basing your story on or the people you are telling your story through. The interview, the data, the exclusive that makes your story special.
Introduce yourself, why you are the best person to write this story. What have you written/produced previously with links. You might also want to include links to your professional website, portfolio or social media]
[Thank the editor for their time and details of how you’d like to be contacted should they have questions.]
With kind regards,
[Your name]
[Email, telephone, website]