Pitch to:
Ian Taylor, features editor, at iantaylor@bbcmagazinesbristol.com
Type of article:
We commission feature articles of all kinds, from a boxy DPS to comprehensive eight-pagers and technology group tests. One-off interviews are usually done in-house, so don’t get in touch unless you have a bona fide exclusive.
Topics:
Focus covers a very broad range of subjects: Technology, psychology, engineering, space, biology, archaeology, physics and more. But we can’t emphasise enough that this is popular science. It relates to people’s everyday lives, you shouldn’t need a PhD to understand it, and everything in the mag can potentially spark a conversation at the pub or dinner table.
How to pitch:
An email, with a concise, punchy summary of your idea.
Post pitch:
We have long leads so don’t worry if you don’t hear straight back. A follow-up email or phone call a few weeks later will do.
What will impress:
An original, concise but detailed pitch that offers ideas for interviewees and boxouts.
What won’t impress:
False promises, spelling mistakes and your 10,000-word theory on the unification of physics.
Rates for pieces:
It varies. We’d pay more for Richard Dawkins or Malcolm Gladwell.
Images:
Not unless you have exclusive on-location stuff.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
