Riding high on the groundswell of pride and honor felt among most members of the black community during President Obama‘s 2008 election, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Donald Graham, chairman of The Washington Post, partnered to launch The Root, an online publication covering the nation’s biggest news stories — with an African-American angle.

“The idea was to bring smart, thoughtful pieces that bring a black perspective to the news of the day and reflect the conversations that black people are having,” explained Lauren Williams,  deputy editor.

The online pub has over 1.5 million unique monthly visitors, a good thing for PR pros who are looking to land coverage for their clients. For pitching etiquette and editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: The Root.

– Sherry Yuan

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Founded in 1985, Delicious Living bills itself as the editorial companion for natural food shoppers, but you won’t find it on most magazine racks. Issues are bought and then distributed, generally free of charge, by participating natural product stores. “The founder [Doug Greene] was a real visionary,” said editor-in-chief Elisa Bosley. “He didn’t think people should have to pay for this. It’s totally educational, and that’s what they’ve stuck with this whole time.”

The mag provides online opportunities for publicist pitches, given that the client has expert knowledge on either a particular health field or product. As always, make sure to do your homework before you pitch — that means familiarizing yourself with the pub and tailoring your idea accordingly.

For pitching etiquette and editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: Delicious Living.

– Sherry Yuan

The full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

Launched in 1951 as the authority on breaking information in the black community, JET has a loyal readership of over 7 million and covers everything from sports and politics to lifestyle and fashion. All sections are open to PR pitches; just make sure you study the pub and are familiar with the tone and the types of stories that the magazine covers.

“It’s a full-service publication. Pitch your clients. Pitch your products. It’s about how you pitch. There’s nothing that we’re not covering right now,” said editor-in-chief Mitzi Miller. Content has always covered an array of topics, but it’s just a matter of making sure you’re pitching to the right person and that the pitch is customized. A blanketed, mass-mailed pitch without a specific feel for the magazine’s audience or style is guaranteed to get ignored.

For more details and a list of editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: JET.

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Ever since Rachael Ray first hit the culinary scene as Food Network’s pint-sized, quick-cooking aficionado, women have been tuning in by the millions and clamoring to whip up their own 30-minute meals. Now Ray is a certified brand, with a slew of extensions, including cookbooks, a daytime talk show, a line of premium dog food and, of course, her lifestyle magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray.

The mag accepts publicist pitches, a good thing for PR pros looking to reach its 1.7 million-plus circulation. Just make sure you familiarize yourself with the pub first — everything from products to celebrities featured in the mag must fit a certain mold.

For pitching etiquette and editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: Every Day With Rachael Ray.
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Audubon, one of the oldest continuously published magazines in the country, has been harvesting some of the best earth-minded writing for more than a century. The pub appeals to the well educated, politically active nature lover.

Though the mag is the only pure nature magazine on the market, EIC David Seideman admits that the publication aspires to the reach and commercial success of National Geographic, while still maintaining its commitment to the thought-provoking, long-form type journalism of The Atlantic and The New Yorker.

And, lucky for publicists, editors are more than open to featuring your clients as long as they fit the pub’s nature-loving mission. Get the details on who and what to pitch in How To Pitch: Audubon.

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“Unique ideas often start with pitches, and many are surprising”, according to Breanne Heldman, New York bureau chief at Yahoo! Entertainment. She was speaking on a PRSA NY panel on Tuesday about placing entertainment stories.

Other panelists included::
• Lauren Brown, Site Director, Ok! Magazine.com
• James Chairman, New York Bureau Producer, E! News
• Erin Clements, Celebrity News Editor, The Huffington Post
• Paola Leva, News Director, In Touch Weekly
• Benjamin Wagner, Senior Vice President, MTV News

Below are their tips for breaking through the clutter with original, creative pitches leading to mutually productive relationships. Some appear self-evident, but may be worth repeating.

1.Celebrities promoting brands: These types of stories provide access, Clements said. The outlets will touch upon the brand tie-in, then cover the celebrity’s work. As Heldman added, sometimes it’s even funny, as when they interviewed a pregnant celebrity plugging a rum brand on St. Patrick’s day. All she could do was mention what she’d like to be drinking.

2.Exclusive content is highly desirable, or at least most media outlets prefer to receive it first. As Brown observed, “nothing is really exclusive online anymore, because once it goes online it’s fair game”. But if her site posts an item early on, their readers will share it and build the outlet’s own social media following.

3.Story extension ideas: Sending pitches to extend a big story running for several days is advisable. For example, it may be an expert who can speak about Angelina Jolie’s recent medical news, Heldman said.

4.Finding unique angles is critical, Clements noted. Brown wants the flexibility to add first person spin and avoid a cookie-cutter approach. As Wagner added, for MTV News, merely an announcement of a new album release is a non-starter. (Image at left courtesy of MTV News’ story, “Cannes Film Festival 2013: Our Must-See Movies”)

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Even Rodin, the French sculptor who created iconic images like The Thinker, (left) might have a hard time getting his opinions published in some media outlets today. That is, unless the artist also possessed a writing style with a strong viewpoint that was provocative or counterintuitive with a catchy, conversational tone.

Those were some of the pointers from the editorial panelists at a recent PCNY event on pitching opinion pieces, bylined and contributed content. Other desirable criteria include articles with compelling angles that are well sourced and grounded in facts. Self-serving or promotional pieces don’t make the cut. So if a sculptor like Rodin was intent on seeing his name in print or online, he’d be well advised to write about the fine arts category, not focus exclusively on his own masterpieces.

The panelists represented a broad array of digital and print outlets with varying degrees of difficulty for outside submissions to break through. These included: CNN Digital, Bloomberg View, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Ad Age and The Muse. Of course the industries these media brands cover aren’t targeted or limited to art. They encompass categories ranging from politics and economics to technology, marketing, media, careers and lifestyle.

Each editor painted a brief picture of their outlet and provided tips for prospective guest contributors.

CNN Digital: The Opinion section of the site “hosts a wide range of views across the spectrum of politics, religion, arts and other areas”, explained Richard Galant, senior opinion editor. They only publish one or two outside submissions per day, and they want original, exclusive hooks to ongoing news stories.

Bloomberg View: Editorial board member Frank Wilkinson described the two-year old site as “a startup within a large news organization”. He said their op-ed page only takes selected outside contributors since they now produce more opinion related content in-house. Their core focus is the intersection of economics, finance, government and cultural issues, and they look for densely researched pieces.

Business Insider: The site has evolved, according to managing editor Jessica Liebman. There are now 15 sections, like technology, finance, retail, politics, sports, lifestyle, military and defense, with plans to add energy and healthcare. Their current focus is having quality contributors and selected bloggers post about newsy or fun topics.

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Although the primary goal of Mariner is help generate buzz for Holland America Line cruises, the magazine also aims to provide material on par with other consumer travel publications.

“Mariner engages Holland America Line’s premium and returning passengers with a mix of cruise line service information, alongside literate travel narrative, world-class photography and high-level design and production,” said editor-in-chief Chuck Thompson.

And, lucky for you, the magazine is open to pitches from any publicist involved with tourist hot spots, as well as those with celebrity clients that have a strong connection to certain locales. For the whole story, including editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: Mariner.

– Nicholas Braun

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Journey is AAA’s bimonthly magazine that covers travel destinations  both between states and internationally in a manner that appeals to residents of Washington and other Northwestern states. “We’re more of an experiential market than a luxury, high-end shopping audience,” explained editor-in-chief Rob Bhatt. 

He also stressed that his team is interested in travel-related PR pitches, especially about local destinations reachable by car, as well as chefs, restaurants and resorts in the Northwest. But, as always, publicists must show familiarity with the publication’s reader base. “There are certain angles that make sense for a Northwestern audience and others that don’t.”

Get more details on PR pitching do’s and don’ts, plus contact info for all editors accepting pitches in How To Pitch: Journey.

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Launched in the spring of 2002, Cure aims to present cancer research and information in a patient-friendly format. The magazine is distributed freely to cancer patients and healthcare professionals, and the vast majority of its contributors have a background in health writing or are medical professionals themselves, such as editor-in-chief, Debu Tripathy, a well-known oncologist who specializes in breast cancer.

Publicists are encouraged to pitch Cure editors on anything related to the disease, including book reviews. The magazine’s editor-at-large typically pens one review for each issue, and the book almost always was pitched by a publicist.

Get more details, plus a full list of all editors accepting pitches in How to Pitch: Cure [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required].

– Nicholas Braun