Advice for freelancers on pitching articles to newspapers, by Frances Ryan, Guardian journalist

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Robert 1973

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Anomalies in the review process and interpretation of the evidence in the NICE guideline for (CFS & ME), 2023, White et al

Guardian columnist Frances Ryan, who is disabled and often writes about disability issues, has posted some useful advice on pitching articles as a freelancer about ME/CFS to the Guardian and other papers. I hope some knowledgeable people on here may consider doing this – either individually or collaboratively.

As well as the issues raised in this thread on the JNNP article, I’m also wondering if it might be worth someone from the DecodeME team pitching an article about that study.







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Copies of Frances Ryan's tweets:

From Rosie Jones doc to the ME research, I know there’s many issues right now that some in the disabled community feel passionately about. There’s still few staff disabled journalists so pitching as a freelancer can be a vital way to get voices heard. So here’s a few tips: 1/6

* Send a two-three paragraph pitch email to an editor (more on this later): what you want to argue; why you’re the person to write it; why it’s newsworthy. Be timely. Don’t be disheartened if you get ignored (editors get 100s a day). Do feel free to follow up politely. 2/6

* Don’t send an already written article. Editors won’t have time to read it and they’ll want to work with you on what will go in the piece before you write it. Don’t send attachments. Do add a few links to your pitch if that helps. 3/6

* Find the right editor for the right section. If you want to pitch opinion, make sure that’s who you’re pitching to! Research the section of the paper/website you want to feature in. Check they haven’t already covered your stance. Learn what their style and content is. 4/6

* Long time since I’ve been freelance so afraid I don’t have up to date list of editors (sorry!) but helpfully, pretty much every outlet’s editors and emails are easily findable. Just search on Twitter or Google. You can find the Guardian opinion email here:
@guardianopinion
5/6

* The media can feel a closed shop. But you don’t need experience or a CV to pitch. Just a great idea. As a disabled writer, you bring a unique voice (when writing about non-disability subjects too). Remember: the media is crying out for new perspectives. Readers are too. 6/6

Oh and as someone asked, YES you should absolutely expect to be paid. Get some experience on unpaid small sites if you want but mainstream media should always be paying you for your labour. A simple, “What’s the fee, please?” if they aren’t upfront.

If you’re looking to develop this into a job, really worth doing some DM’s with other writer mates (especially who are minorities) to chat about which orgs have the best rates. Don’t be afraid to be strategic about where you’re spending your time and on what kind of pieces.
 
BTW, The Guardian publishes pay rates here:

https://www.theguardian.com/info/gu...-charter#50b7c8a0-529c-4329-94f0-b33e487db04b

"Commissioned written Contributions
Wordage rate: 361.36 per 1,000 words and pro-rated thereafter."

They used to be terrible for paying (mostly they didn't offer), but have presumably become more proactive in paying fairly.

The rule has always been that the skeezier the publication, the higher the fee. Broadsheets and leftie periodicals usually paid less because they didn't have the same deep pockets (though Google "Paris Review CIA Cold War" for some interesting exceptions to that rule).

Thus, a 300-word article in a Daily Mail-owned magazine ~2008 got me £500 (and that was without trying -- I probably could've pushed for more, but I was 22). You'd be looking at four times that length for the Guardian now, and it's 15 years later! But I guess it's definitely more prestigious.
 
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