Pitching a ... reporter?

NobodyMuch

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Hello friends,

I have a pitch idea that would provide "another side of the story" to an article published a few weeks back. I'd ideally like to query the same venue. When researching said venue, I ran across this interview, with the very editor I plan to pitch. She says, "Figure out who’s writing in your area of expertise and interest. Review their work and email those writers directly before sending your pitches to editors." ... really? What on earth would I say? It feels completely foreign to pitch to a reporter, though I know who I'd want to email: the person who wrote the original article.

Your advice is greatly appreciated, AWers!

NM
 

Qwest

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Thanks for sharing that article. I don't write for magazines, but my partner does. Depressingly, he mostly he gets stuff published when he has an "in" with an editor. Yes, contacts in any industry go along way.

The line you highlighted made no sense to me either. I can't figure out why you'd do that. It has either been bullet-pointed out of context or maybe it's saying the other writer can help you get an in? Not clearly communicated, I concur.

If you want to approach the original writer for your piece, I don't see why not (unless your article is completely in opposition to theirs?) they might be able to get you that "in" you need, after all?
 

JNLister

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It could be the line is meant to refer to getting in touch with writers to get their tips on what the editor is looking for and the best way to pitch them.
 

Old Hack

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The article is a list of key points from a presentation the editor gave, I think. So I suspect the person who wrote it hasn't represented what was said with sufficient clarity.

If you want to pitch your work to editors, do that. I'd not approach the writers who work for that editor unless I had some contacts to give them, or some information. It seems intrusive.
 

NobodyMuch

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Thank you all for your thoughts. You confirmed that I hadn't missed some secret pitching path. I suspect that Old Hack is right, that the compiler missed something important when summarizing the interviewee.