Pitch to: Music and film features to Michael Bonner, music reviews to John Robinson, all front section business to deputy editor John Mulvey.
How to pitch: The best way to pitch to us is by phone or email (michael_bonner@ipcmedia.com; john_robinson@ipcmedia.com). As a rule we don’t tend to use many freelancers outside our immediate pool, but that’s not to say we wouldn’t give serious consideration to a good idea, well pitched.
My advice is to look at the magazine and see what works best for us. A simple, clean idea that can be contained in a few sentences is, at least initially, the best way to proceed.
It’s also crucially important you know the name of the person you’re pitching to. To send a letter addressed to ‘The Features Editor’that begins ‘Dear sir or madam’isn’t going to get anywhere, I’m afraid.
If this sounds like ‘Basic Rules of Journalism Module 1.0″, well, it is, but you’d be surprised that we do get unsolicited submissions where the freelancer clearly hasn’t looked at the masthead.
What will impress: A good idea. I don’t really respond to the kind of pitch that runs: ‘X has got a new album/film out, so can I write a piece about them?’I’d like something that feels a bit fresh and enthusiastic. Passion is really important – ultimately, you need to engage with the reader so that needs to come across in the pitch.
Images: No.
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