Here is the presentation that accompanied the discussion on how to pitch articles to sports sites and magazines.

1. JRN 574
Crafting the Sports Feature
Pitching the Sports Feature
Rich Hanley

2. Pitch Session
● Remember: “The glimmer moment.” That’s the description
writer Cynthia Gorney deploys when discussing idea
formation.
● The moment occurs when a writer observes something, reads
something, experiences something or hears about something
and immediately thinks, “that can be a feature story.”
● Writers must always be prepared for the glimmer moment.

3. Pitch Session
● How Not to Pitch
● You don’t know what the story is.
- Key to avoid that: Write a nut graf to clarify the idea
based on preliminary reporting and a sense of where the story
could be centered.
● You didn’t check to see if the story has been published.
- Key to avoid that: internet search, archive check on
targeted publication if available one.

4. Pitch Session
● How Not to Pitch
● You pitch the wrong person
- Key to avoid that: Check the About section to see section
editors’ names/contact info
- “Pitching me something that doesn’t make any sense for the
publication, subject-wise or tonally, shows me you haven’t
read through the site,” said Gina Vaynshteyn, editor-in-chief
at First Media. “If you haven’t done your homework, I wonder
how diligent you’ll be about your story.”

5. Pitch Session
● How Not to Pitch
● Story is narrow or the stakes aren’t high enough
- Key to avoid that: Think scope, reach, and impact.

6. Pitch Session
● How to Pitch
● Explain why anyone should care
● Show that you can pull it off
● Know exactly the story and how to execute it
● Don’t be impatient and bother the editor

7. Pitch Session
● Example
(Contact info upper left)
Hi [Editor’s Name],
Pleased to meet you! I saw your website call for articles to submit to FanSided, and
I’ve got a story I think may be a fit.
I’d like to write a 2,000-word piece explaining how the Ivy League football ban on
in-season tackling during practice has led to measurable improvement in
performance.

8. Pitch Session
● Example
Dartmouth, for example, has improved tackling by some 75% since adopting its no-
tackle practice philosophy in 2016. The team has won three league championships
between that year and 2022.
The Ivy League presently has nine alumni playing in the NFL, including several on
defense, so the move away from practice tackling has had no negative outcome for
players.

9. Pitch Session
● Example
I am presently on-staff at the New Haven Register covering Yale football, so I see
the result of the no-tackling policy each week in the fall. I have also written for
blogs that cover each Ivy League team. Here are a few relevant clips, and you can
also take a peek at my website and full digital portfolio. As these show, I can also
take photographs and create infographics.

10. Pitch Session
● Example
Thanks for your consideration. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think!
Thanks again,
Grantland Rice

11. Pitch Session
● Habits to Cultivate
- Talk to people from the sports realm
- Play hooky from the day job
- Read sports sites, both traditional and emerging
- Eat lunch alone at a sports bar & listen to what people are
saying
- Monitor social media
- Ignore important people/people who are already in the news
- Celebrate losers
- Wonder: “Who would ever …

12. Pitch Session
● Habits
- Hang out at social settings (i.e., coffee shops, bars)
- Give everyone your contact info
- Work holidays
- Grab stories no one else wants to cover
- Look for the “bruised apple.”

13. Pitch Session Reminder - Story Creation Trajectory
Idea Reporting Writing Revising

14. Pitch Session
● Sources
Herrera, Tim. “How to successfully pitch The New York Times (or, well, anyone
else).” NiemanLab. 2018. https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/10/how-to-
successfully-pitch-the-new-york-times-or-well-anyone-else/. Accessed Dec. 2,
2020.
https://thewritelife.com/
Degregory, Lane. “Narrative as a Daily Habit.” Telling True Stories, eds.
Mark Kramer and Wendy Call, Penguin Books. 2007, pp. 239-243.