Pitch Better, Part 3: An insider's list of pitchable podcasts
Plus: Should you pitch one article or a series? A podcast or an essay? A hybrid, multiplatform approach? Guidance from award-winning reporters
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Hi Storytellers —
On Saturday, huddling in a sweater and scarf in a chilly basement meeting room at The Regency Hotel in Portland, Maine, I found myself gripped by this question: How do you decide whether a complicated story should be a single longform feature or a series?
It was one of many questions posed by Larry Parnass, executive editor of The Republican newspaper in Springfield, Mass., to a panel of four reporters at the New England Newspaper Convention. They were all recent winners of Publick Occurrences awards for the best journalism in New England.
I’ve asked a version of this question thousands of times — sometimes of myself, when a story idea leaps into my head, and sometimes of reporters or editors I’m working with.
There’s the question as Parnass asked it, which is important. But as we increasingly move toward multiplatform storytelling, there are even more format questions to answer when formulating a pitch.
Should I pitch a podcast series? Or a single audio story? What about a hybrid, a podcast series with an online component, as many Substack newsletters do?
What exactly does this story want to be?
Watching the panel discussion, two answers struck me. Sruthi Gopalakrishnan, a reporter with the Concord Monitor in Concord, N.H., won an award for her series, “Planning the End.” The decision to make it a series was organic.
Interested in illuminating New Hampshire’s debate around a bill to allow medical aid in dying, Gopalakrishnan visited Barbara Filion, an elderly woman with metastatic bone cancer.
When she first visited, Filion was trying to decide whether to pursue medical aid in dying or not. Gopalakrishnan had a single story in mind. But when Filion invited her to return, she realized it should be a series: Barbara would allow the reporter to chronicle her journey to choose her own death.
Gopalakrishnan’s editors at the Monitor saw the wisdom of the choice.
Often, however, the decision is not nearly so obvious.
For years, Vermont had been a leader in reducing opioid addiction and overdoses. But recently, that trend reversed.
More and more addicts were winding up on the streets of Burlington, the state capital. The state’s overdose numbers were spiking. And addicts were sicker than ever, some enduring multiple overdoses a week.
Colin Flanders, a reporter with the independent newspaper Seven Days, wanted to know why.
But he had a side quest as well: “I wanted to know what it was like to live as an addict,” he said. “We talk to officials, we talk to people who work with addicts, but we rarely hear their stories directly from them.”
Given the story’s scope, Flanders talked to tens of people suffering from addiction. They shared their life stories with him. You can imagine the volume of material he gathered.
Many writers and editors would have made it a series. Not Seven Days. Because Colin considers the audience’s feelings, not just the story’s complexity.
“With dark stories, I prefer one long story over a series,” Flanders said. “It’s a big ask to have readers go on this journey of overdoses and death week after week after week.”
Good reporters and editors always try to put themselves in the shoes of their subjects — some with more empathy and success than others.
It’s not as common to hear a reporter thinking like a strategic editor: What does my reader, listener, or viewer need and want? What can they tolerate?
The four reporters on the panel are newspaper employees. The life of a local news reporter isn’t easy, but being attached to a news organization does allow more luxury in making the one-story-vs-series decision to be driven largely by the content itself.
But more of us are independent, looking for homes for our stories. What then?
An insider’s list of pitchable shows
No matter the platform, dollars matter. In audio, specifically, we have to take economics into account.
Only a few years ago, it was reasonable to pitch a limited series to a network and expect some measure of success. Today, however, fewer and fewer networks are buying series. When they do, the money is tighter. (There are other ways to make series. It takes innovative thinking, determination, and often, non-media partners. That’s an essay for another day.)
So a pivot is necessary. Most often, the answer to the question “single story or series?” is “single story.”
The good news: There’s a decent list of shows, from Life Kit to Love + Radio, that still want your audio story pitches.
Remember audio journalist Will Coley from Pitch Better, Part 1 (“the naked journalist,” as I’ve taken to calling him, I’m sure to his chagrin)?
Will is one of the most generous people I know in this very generous industry. Some time ago, he created a running list of podcasts and radio shows that accept pitches. It includes helpful information like deadlines, contact info, and even rates, when outlets have been willing to divulge them.
Will provides his list for free to groups of audio makers. And he’s given it to me to share with you.
Here it is.
And here’s a bit of pitching advice that will come as an obvious reminder to many of you. But it’s worth repeating: Ask yourself the question Colin Flanders thinks about: “What does the audience need now? What might they not tolerate?”
As you write your query, treat the commissioning editor like a member of their own audience. Hook them. Show them how your story meets their needs.
It’s not as common to hear a reporter thinking like a strategic editor: What does my reader, listener, or viewer need and want? What can they tolerate?
I’d love to chronicle your pitch-to-produced journey. If you’re in the midst of pitching a story or recently had one accepted, email me (just hit reply) or message me on Substack.
And I’m all ears if you’re willing to share a rejection and how you handled it.
Let’s talk.
Coming soon: A longtime Radiolab producer takes us into her own process pitching a lyrical story about a little octopus with a big heart. She shares what made her editors say yes.
* Lead artwork by Sophia Kunkel on Unsplash
Missed Parts 1 & 2 of this Pitch Better series?
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🏆 Learn from the best
Before you pitch, do this: Many outlets tell you exactly what they’re looking for. I love This American Life’s submission guidelines, in part because they link to examples of successful pitches. Take a glance at pitch guidelines from Radiolab and 99% Invisible — and always search to see if the outlet you want to pitch has published their own guidelines. (If they haven’t, but you have a contact at the outlet, ask them. Sometimes producers have created extensive guidelines that they don’t post publicly.)
Even more pitching guidance: If you’re a member of AIR - The Association of Independents in Radio, you have access to a treasure trove of webinars on all things audio. A quick search on “pitching” turns up four webinars on how to pitch NPR, WHYY’s The Pulse, Snap Judgment, and one on how to create a podcast pitch deck. (Yes, some of these are old.) Membership, by the way, is affordable at $100 a year for professionals and $45 annually for students.
Sound Judgment Kudos
In most issues, I give Sound Judgment Kudos to audio folks who are making sound judgments choices that improve our craft or serve others.
My first Sound Judgment Kudo goes to audio producer and showrunner Karen Given, author of the Narrative Beat newsletter. She killed herself creating wrote a comprehensive guide to building one of the most mysterious, and aggravating, documents showrunners and producers need: the podcast budget. Study Karen’s detailed “Podcast Math” here. She’s also offering a budget spreadsheet for a whopping $20. Purchasing it is on my to-do list. Next time I need to present a budget, I know it’ll save me hours of work. Thanks for doing the math for us, Karen. Need some Tylenol?
My second Sound Judgment Kudo goes to NHPR Senior Podcast Producer Katie Colaneri and the NHPR Document team for having the bravery to buck conventional wisdom and give the full narrative series treatment to a seemingly “little” story. The Final Days of Sgt. Tibbs, reported by Todd Bookman, is about the death of a 19-year-old cat. As Bookman admits up front, it’s hardly what you’d expect from a traditional reporter. It’s not what I would have expected from this team, which is known for hard-hitting documentaries like its Pulitzer finalist The 13th Step. Kudos for being open-minded and versatile.
So why give the full narrative treatment to a story about a cat? This ingenious, captivating series is about far more than a scruffy, beloved feline. It’s about how we relate to our pets, our friends and neighbors, social media, mortality and loss. At least, that’s my quick interpretation. A week after listening, I’m still pondering it. It reminds me of when Snap Judgment’s Glynn Washington told me that Snap never tells the listener what a story means, because he wants you to think about it later and talk to everyone you know about it. It’s working.
My third Sound Judgment Kudo goes to Nieman Storyboard Editor Mark Armstrong for launching — what else — a new podcast about storytelling. I listened to the first episode of the Nieman Storyboard podcast, featuring The Reported Essay’s Erika Hayasaki, while driving through the sleet and snow on Saturday. Listen for her examples of trauma-informed reporting and also to learn what she believes makes for “stories that endure.” I was entranced. I didn’t even mind the weather.
My own Sound Judgment
This weekend, it was a joy to co-present to the New England Newspaper Convention on “Podcasting for Publishers,” alongside my friend and client Monica Brady-Myerov. Monica is the publisher of The Vineyard Gazette and the new weekly podcast On the Vineyard. On the Vineyard is notable not just for amplifying conversations about the news of the week, but for taking advantage of the audio medium to create a visceral sense of place. You have to hear the “pinkletinks.” (Trust me.)
If you’re interested in how podcasts can help news organizations’ sustainability efforts and how they can help you meet significant unmet audience needs, reach out to have me speak to your team or conference.
As always, it is a joy to be with you.
Elaine
Epilogue
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” ― Ernest Hemingway
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