How To Pitch: Cincinnati

Pitch serious narratives or service briefs to captivate Queen City readers

By Shane Kite - July 19, 2012

The information in this article is current and accurate.

Circulation: 41,303
Frequency: Monthly
Special issues: "Top Doctors" (January), "Best Restaurants" (March), "Best of the City" (December)

Background: Founded in 1967 by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati traces its evolution as regional standout to 30-plus years of journalistic independence. The pub was purchased in 1981 by CM Media to tap into weightier coverage, and its focus shifted again to more narrative profiles in 1997 when Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications, known for publishing well-regarded regionals like Texas Monthly, acquired the magazine.

Since then, editors have prided themselves on living up to standards more akin to national publications. Feature in point: Kathy Y. Wilson's article on local conservative radio host Bill Cunningham earned Cincinnati a 2007 nomination for a National Magazine Award alongside profiles from National Geographic, New York magazine, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair.

While the magazine's content serves an "affluent, upper middle class, well-educated readership," editorial is not pigeonholed by demographics, said Linda Vaccariello, executive editor. A feature in the May 2012 issue, for instance, detailed the short but rich-in-spirit life and bizarre death of a punk drummer nicknamed "Bones." She explained, "We knew this was the sort of human-interest story that our readers are compelled to. They read the newspaper; they're just as puzzled as the rest of us about who this guy was and how he came to lose his life in such a strange circumstance."

Editors encourage humor too. Although the city itself was once dubbed "Porkopolis" for its history of hog butchering, Cincinnati just tapped a freelancer to cover local officials' attempts to stem damage caused by feral hogs terrorizing a nearby county....