by Leo Wiles
13 December 2013
If you thought Christmas was a time to hang up your stocking AND your keyboard, think again.
Most magazine and papers work with a skeleton staff and stale stories, meaning December and January can be a great time to shine.
Forget Walkley-winning pitches. Over the festive season, showcasing your ability to deliver a newsworthy article, a unique angle or eye catching feature could be just what a hungover news editor or exhausted features director may be searching for. Especially if they’re dealing with staff resentful about working over the holidays and not as proactive about chasing stories as they could be.
Don’t forget, most news cycles are now 24/7 – and even the long lead titles have had to put three issues to bed before carving the turkey. So the usual workforce may be shopping, enjoying a long lunch or taking a break.
Which brings us back to your pitch. It’s an ideal time to step in with a story idea or three – especially as the silly season is often a time when potentially noteworthy stories can fall through the cracks. (It goes without saying that it’s also a fantastic time for PRs to pitch – and post shout-outs to The Watercooler – around December / January when regular sources of story leads may be in short supply.)
If you can deliver your great idea before the first news meeting of 2014 when everyone has run out of ideas, chances are you’ll have made a great new contact – and hopefully, a couple of commissions to boot.
And even if your regular mags and editors are on a break, use some of the quiet time in between festive events to organise your office, get all your pitches in a row and think up ideas for the next three months so you’re one step ahead of the pack when February’s deadline hell hits.
Will you be pitching over the festive break, or kicking back with a cocktail by a pool somewhere exotic? Come on, make us jealous.
I wasn’t sure whether to pitch or not but now I will for sure! Great article, solid tips and very motivational. 🙂
Dear NicolaC, Awesome. I’m so glad you found it useful.
Good luck with the pitching.