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How To Pitch: Foreign Policy

'Drill deep on the ideas and trends -- without sacrificing readability'

RELATED: How To Pitch: Slate

Circulation: Approximately 100,000 (print); More than 1 million unique readers and 10 million monthly page views (online)
Frequency: Bimonthly in print; daily online
Special issues: 100 Top Global Thinkers (December), Failed States Index (July/August)

Background: Foreign Policy magazine was founded in 1971 as a magazine "dedicated to global politics, economics, and ideas." Their ambition ever since has been "to show that the world is not at all a boring place, but rather a subject for endless debate, inquiry, and storytelling," says assistant managing editor Elizabeth Dickinson. "Our seven yearly print issues and our daily Web magazine at ForeignPolicy.com have become must-reads for anyone interested in the world around them."

In October 2008, Foreign Policy was purchased by the Washington Post Company and today, it is a member of the Slate Group, an organization that includes Slate.com and The Root. "Since the change in ownership, our circulation numbers in print and online have increased sharply, and we've taken that as an opportunity to make our product smarter, prettier, and more exhaustive," says Dickinson. "We have redesigned the magazine, increased the number of stories we publish online, and added new focused portals such as the AfPak Channel and the new Middle East Channel."

Foreign Policy's target audience is informed readers at high levels of politics, business, and academia. "We also try to make our content engaging so that we attract even readers who wouldn't ordinarily seek out foreign policy news," says Dickinson. In terms of competition, Foreign Policy occupies a happy middle ground: "Unlike Foreign Affairs, we're not a journal -- we publish reported stories, dispatches, and profiles, and our pieces are written for a broad audience," says Dickinson. "But unlike The Atlantic and other general interest publications, Foreign Policy is unhealthily obsessed with the world beyond our borders. We're able to drill deep on the ideas and trends -- without sacrificing readability. In other words, we combine the smarts of a journal with the snappiness and reporting chops of any general-audience magazine."...

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