How to Pitch Slate

ARCHIVED 2020-04-01, DATE APPROXIMATE · VERSION 20200401_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20200201_rev01

Full text changes — 20200201_rev01 to 20200401_rev01

COLOUR MARKS THE SEVERITY OF A FLAGGED CLAUSE · + AND − MARK ADDED AND REMOVED

 To give you a sense of the kind of pitch that will catch our eyes, here's one recently from a freelancer that eventually became a [Slate story](http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2017/11/cognitive_behavioral_therapy_doesn_t_fix_everything_for_everyone.html):
 > I'm writing a pitch for a 1500-2000 word piece that sits at the intersection of culture and health/science and responds to the recent New York Times Magazine story titled "Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe Anxiety?", which was discussed on this week's Culture Gabfest. In the piece, I would like to combine my own experiences seeking treatment for anxiety and depression over the past twenty years with relevant academic and popular research to discuss how the NYT story is part of two related trends in psychology/psychiatry. The first trend is the move to conceptualize anxiety as something distinct from other conditions with which it is frequently comorbid, such as depression and OCD. This is evident in both classification criteria (and consequent changes in the frequency of diagnosis) and the types of treatment pursued. The brings me to the second trend, which is what I refer to as the cognitive-behavioral boom.
+>
 > I have relied on medication to manage my mental illness, which falls somewhere in the anxiety/depression realm, for many years, mostly with great success. However, in the past several years I have noticed a marked change in how medical and mental health professionals address my condition, mostly having to do with the popularity of CBT. It is now almost impossible to seek help with my medications without getting lectured about how I should be pursuing CBT and its related therapies-treatment routes that I have, in fact, attempted multiple times to no avail. I have even had a cognitive behavioral therapist tell me outright that If I want to "get better" I have to "get off those medications and put in the work." This is the main point of the piece: that CBT has gained popularity not only because it is seen as effective, but also because it is framed as the virtuous path to dealing with mental illness. It may be true that CBT is effective for people who experience anxiety as discrete fears that they can find the root of and talk back to (about 50% of people who undergo CBT, give or take, depending on the study). However, a good portion of anxiety sufferers experience anxiety as just one facet of a complex and nebulous set of conditions that, for frustratingly elusive reasons, responds best to pharmacological interventions. For us, the increasing valorization of CBT and the trend toward simplifying and isolating anxiety as a condition serve to further stigmatize our struggles.
+Here are editors to whom you can email your pitch:
+Here is where you can email your pitch.
+For **coronavirus-related pitches**, we've set up a few additional accounts:
+• To pitch our Coronavirus Diaries series: [coronavirusdiaries@slate.com](<mailto: coronavirusdiaries@slate.com>)
+• To pitch an economics story: [econbiz@slate.com](mailto:econbiz@slate.com)
+• To pitch a lifestyle story: [humaninterest@slate.com](mailto:humaninterest@slate.com)
+• To pitch a personal piece from the perspective of a health care worker: [doctorstory@slate.com](mailto:doctorstory@slate.com)
+Please refer below for the relevant editor for other sections.
 ### Culture
 Forrest Wickman (movies, music)
 [**forrest.wickman@slate.com**](mailto:forrest.wickman@slate.com)
 Sam Adams (television)