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.

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 over 150 ”How To Pitch” articles, hundreds of articles on journalism and media jobs, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

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

The queen of media’s eponymous mag boasts 14 million readers and has numerous accolades to its credit.  After launching in 2000 through a partnership with Hearst, the pub has earned a dozen ASME nods and has become the go-to resource encouraging “confident, intelligent women to reach for their dreams and make choices that will lead to happier and more fulfilling lives.”

We’ve said it before with other mags, and, it remains the same with O: Know thy market. Start by picking up a couple (or 10) past issues to get a feel for the magazine and the types of stories that typically run. According to the editors we spoke with, they do accept PR pitches — but they must be on target.

For editors contact info and more specifics, read How To Pitch: O, The Oprah Magazine. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

When EIC and publisher of Girls’ Life Karen Bokram was working for Seventeen, she approached her boss to suggest that the magazine add a section for younger teens. Many girls younger than the pub’s targeted audience wrote in, but the EIC wasn’t into the idea. “We make magazines for advertisers, not readers,” she said.

So Bokram struck out on her own, and founded the tween mag Girl’s Life, which has been going strong for almost 20 years. Luckily for her, advertisers have realized what a potent economic force tweens are, and she has no problem getting them to work with the pub. PR pros are also welcome to pitch their clients to the magazine as long as they make sense for the pub’s audience. “Anti-aging cream — not for us,” said Bokram.

For editors’ contact info and details on the most PR-friendly sections, read How To Pitch: Girls’ Life. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

When it comes to publicist pitches, “I’m down for any subject: the weirder, the better,” says Inked editor Rocky Rakovic.

The lifestyle pub, which Rakovic describes as “the outsider’s insider,” goes beyond the world of tattoos in its coverage: fashion, booze, cars and art all find their way into the pages of the mag. “Just think of us sort of like a Maxim [except] everyone in the magazine has tattoos, so it’s like Maxim plus tattoos, minus the articles that they do [on] the very ‘clean’ men’s lifestyle,” he said.

For more details and editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: Inked. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

For years, Running Times‘ closest competition was Runner’s World, another book that covers the world of runners with industry trends and service pieces. However, Running Times sets itself apart by being the go-to resource for more experienced athletes.

“We’re like taking the senior-level course rather than Running 101,” said editor-in-chief Jonathan Beverly.

The section of the book that is most ripe for PR pitches is “Gear and Trail.” Think your product or client would fit well there?

Get advice for PR pitching, plus a full list of editors’ contact info in How To Pitch: Running Times. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

Ever since it started out as an insert in the New York Herald-Tribune, New York magazine has made a name for itself as the trusted confidante of the city’s most knowing readers.

And editorial director Jared Hohlt has some great advice if you’re looking to pitch your clients to the pub. “Publicists should note that we are not restricted to ‘New York area-only’ profiles,” he explained. “If we are doing a profile of someone, we do want to make sure that our competitors aren’t doing the same sort of piece at the same time, but that kind of goes without saying.”  

Get more details and editors’ contact info in How To Pitch: New York. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

With a total readership of 3.8 million, Marie Claire offers a compelling and unpredictable mix of articles underscored with wit and attitude. Its readers are as passionate about human rights around the world as they are about the latest fashion trends to hit the runway, so there are many clients a PR pro could pitch to the mag.

Of course, fashion and beauty pitches are welcome, but publicists can also pitch stories about politics, women in the news and human rights. When pitching, keep in mind that the magazine plans issues several months in advance, so when it’s winter, think spring!

For more details and editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: Marie Claire. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

In recent years, the market for destination weddings has grown to over 25 percent of the wedding market, and Destination Weddings & Honeymoons grew along with it. The mission of the pub is to give readers help with planning and ideas “to get through the experience with minimum stress and maximum joy,” said editor-in-chief Susan Moynihan.

PR pros can pitch everything from destinations and hotels to the invitations and flowers for the big day, as long as it relates to a destination wedding. “We rarely cover a venue, hotel or destination without a staff member or freelancer visiting,” said Moynihan. “That said, we are always interested in newsworthy nuggets, such as hotel openings, hotel renovations, hotel additions, new packages, new hotel brands/concepts, real weddings, news within a destination (easier marriage requirements, new independent wedding sites). Product pitches are also very helpful for our FOB departments.”

For editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: Destination Weddings & Honeymoons. [subscription required]

Z-Life Magazine is the go-to pub for Zumba devotees. With an estimated 12 million people around the world who are enthusiasts of the program, Zumba Fitness started publishing the mag in 2010. Since then, the pub has established itself as an edgy health/beauty/fitness resource for women. You won’t see Z-Life publishing stories that you would find in a traditional health/fitness mag. Instead, readers are interested in bucking the status quo.

Z-Life EIC Andrea Carneiro welcomes PR pitches for fun, edgy products that are unique, or are connected to a celebrity trend. “Our readers are very into beauty and trends,” she said. “They’re definitely not girls that roll out of bed and go to the gym. They always look great.”

For editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: Z-Life Magazine. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]