Monthly unique visitors: 11.8 million in the US; 15 million globally
Updated: Daily
Special packages: None, but pegs around holidays are always welcome
Background: Jezebel was a pioneer in the pantheon of cool, snarky, flame-throwing opinion blogs and websites sharing the interests of women. When it launched in 2007, its founder, Anna Holmes, was pretty candid about her distaste for the messaging conveyed by traditional women’s magazines and how the site was a reaction to their failure to represent real, unairbrushed womanhood. Much of the content posted on Jezebel was in direct response to the articles print outlets and their online iterations were and weren’t publishing.
The industry has changed in the nine years since Jezebel hit the Web, and a lot of blogs and magazines that weren’t even targeting women have become more inclusive of topics that offer honest experiences this demographic might relate to. Still, Jezebel remains a standout.
“We’re trying to push the envelope in terms of what stories aren’t being told, what stories are out there, what things we’re finding interesting. That’s a huge range from politics to reproductive rights to celebrity,” says senior editor Kate Dries. “But our focus is always humor. We always want to be funny and not take ourselves too seriously. It’s not appropriate for every story, but I’d say it’s the attitude of most of our writers, if not all.”
What to pitch: Most of the pitches to the site are about celebrities, pop culture and music. Also pitchable is their politics subblog The Slot, where their stellar election coverage currently lives.
“The stuff that works really well [for all areas of the site] is stuff that requires a little more work and is more deeply researched, like historical pieces and pieces about parts of the country where we don’t have staffers,” Dries explains.
Covering regional stories, trends and insights is a great opportunity for writers who can make what’s going on locally an interesting read to women nationally. Dries adds, “That’s hugely important to us. Most of us are based in New York. We can’t be in all parts of the country or in all parts of the world.”
Under the direction of editor Emma Carmichael, the blog magnetizes a readership of largely 20- and 30-somethings who either consider themselves feminists or embrace the passions of it, even if they don’t identify with the label. To get an assignment, freelancers interested in contributing need to fluently speak the language of that demographic and do it in the blog’s signature style.
One key thing to note: “Our readership is predominantly young women, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only people we’re targeting,” says Dries. “I think we run stuff for women of all ages and try to be pretty diverse in our content.”
Editors for all parts of the Jezebel franchise want ideas that haven’t occurred to them before to cover celebrity, sex, fashion and personal essays, which are frequently featured on the blog. Wow them with topics and angles that go beyond the ordinary and either haven’t been on the site or haven’t been on the site often.
One story that stands out in Dries’ memory is a piece on how the use of IUDs in teen girls has drastically dropped the teen pregnancy rate in Colorado and other states. “First of all, it was so fascinating and something I’d never thought about before,” she says. “Since then, the legislation in Colorado has tried to quash this program but there was a big story in The New York Times about how successful it is. We ran a follow-up blog post about it.”
What not to pitch: Staff writers handle cultural coverage, so steer clear. Also note: “I think we have a hard time with pitches that aren’t very timely, especially stories we’ve already covered or stories that don’t really have a new take,” says Dries. “When the Miley Cyrus/Robin Thicke/’Blurred Lines’ debacle happened, that was extensively covered by the site in a variety of posts. Months and months later, we were still getting pitches about it. It was like, how much more can you say?” Be careful not to add to the gang of writers already beating a topic into a pulp, particularly because new posts are uploaded so often.
Percentage of freelance content published: 10 percent
Percentage of freelance pitches accepted: 50 percent
What publicists should pitch: Editors heavily rely on their PR contacts for entertainment releases—movies, books, TV and music—and interviews with actors. What works best, says Dries, is paying attention to what editors individually cover and playing to those areas of interest. “They see that I’ve written about ‘The Bachelor’ a lot, so they may want to offer up an interview with a contestant or suggest a show that’s similar. That kind of stuff works well, pegging it to something we’ve done before. Or just actually emailing the appropriate editor with your pitch,” she adds.
Recent freelance story pitched and published: Deputy editor Jia Tolentino put out a call for a science writer and a former San Diego Zoo librarian responded, delivering a strong piece about the sex lives of hyenas because, naturally, inquiring minds always wanted to know. The concept actually turned into a series, which just goes to show how the marriage between creativity and solid writing can forge opportunity.
Etiquette: The ideal pitch is short and inventive.
Lead time: Varies, depending on timeliness
Pay rate: $150 to $250
Payment schedule: 30 days after publication
Kill fee: None
Rights purchased: Varies
Contact info:
Jezebel
210 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10012
Twitter | Facebook
Email format: FirstName@jezebel.com
Direct pitches to the appropriate editor:
Editor in Chief Julianne Escobedo Shepherd: JULIANNE at JEZEBEL dot COM
Senior Editor Kelly Faircloth: KELLY at JEZEBEL dot COM
Pitches may also be sent to TIPS at JEZEBEL dot COM and at least one editor will read it.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Though we’ve updated this article recently, the speed at which things move in media means things may have already changed since then. Please email us if you notice any outdated info.
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How to Pitch
