Pitching to media is one of the most important avenues to earning coverage for your client. Pitching involves researching, identifying, messaging and contacting journalists who you believe will cover your client’s announcement. It is essential that you are targeting the right people with your pitch.
To determine the best fit for a pitch, look at the topic or “beat” of each contact. If a journalist’s beat is not explained in their job title, read a few of their recent stories to get a sense of the topics they cover. After you have recognized contacts within a relevant beat, narrow down your pitching list to the titles and roles of media contacts which accept pitches or can assign news stories. Below is an overview of common titles within a media outlet and if they should be prioritized for pitching.
- A Publisher oversees the commercial success of the publication. They ensure that the outlet can recruit and maintain advertisers and subscriptions. Publishers do not assign or contribute content, so they are not an appropriate contact for pitching.
- An Editor-in-Chief oversees high-level organizational operations. They are often in charge of hiring staff, determining the look and feel of a publication, editing and fact-checking copy, and sometimes writing articles themselves. Editors-in-chief are more likely to assign stories at smaller publications where resources are limited. Avoid pitching to editors-in-chief at larger publications.
- A Managing Editor is tasked with maintaining the day-to-day operations of a media outlet. This means they may generate story ideas, plan and assign content, and oversee commissions of stories and art. They also create editorial calendars and supervise editorial staff. For these reasons, managing editors are one of the best contacts for pitching at an outlet.
- An Editor-at-Large is an editor at the publication who also contributes content on a regular or semi-regular basis. Editors-at-large are distinguished from writers because they do not need approval from another editor before writing stories. They are a good contact for pitching.
- A Senior Editor works under the direction of the managing editor and is often in charge of a specific section within the publication. They will guide the editorial content of their team of editors and writers. Senior editors are an adequate pitching contact if they cover a beat important to your announcement.
- A Deputy Editor often works under a Senior editor. They may help with copywriting and editing or may write themselves. This position varies greatly from organization to organization so the true day-to-day of a deputy editor is not certain. For this reason, they are not a great contact for pitching.
- A Senior Writer may help with editing and proofreading for their department but does not have the organizational responsibilities of an editor. Senior writers have more agency than staff writers in determining the content they cover, but they still must have stories approved by their editors. Only pitch to senior editors operating within a relevant beat.
- A Staff Writer contributes content to the publication from within the outlet. This is the most junior role within a media outlet, and there is little freedom to determine content direction. Pitching should be prioritized to more senior contacts.
- A Reporter/Journalist is most similar to the role of staff writers, except they often will travel for their role rather than remaining in the office. Similar to staff writers, it is best to prioritize pitching to contacts with more power in determining what content they cover.
These job descriptions should help explain who may be best to target with a pitch. It is important to remember however that job titles are fluid and may vary from organization to organization. At smaller publications, tasks are more likely to be shared. At larger organizations, the roles may be more distinguished. This list should serve as a starting point, but not an end-all-be-all of media pitching.