Slate How to Pitch Slate changes — 20230401_rev01

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**Do** let us know if you pitch your idea to multiple publications. As a general rule, if the story isn't too timely, it's ideal to wait about a week before sharing the pitch with another publication.

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**Avoid** more than one follow-up email. We try to respond to all pitches, but it often isn't possible. If after a week or so you haven't heard back, feel free to take it elsewhere.

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**Avoid** sending your pitch to another Slate editor if the first editor passes. We are in close and constant touch with each other and frequently the decision to pass is not made alone.

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To give you a sense of the kind of pitches that will catch our eyes, here is one recently from a freelancer that [became a Slate story](https://slate.com/culture/2022/03/dua-lipa-levitating-copyright-infringement-plagiarism-case.html):

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To give you a sense of the kind of pitches that will catch our eyes, here is one recently from a freelancer that [became a Slate story](https://slate.com/culture/2023/03/john-wick-james-bond-action-heroes-j-names.html):

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> I specialize in musical borrowing and the ways musicians circumvent copyright law. In fact, I've written an article evaluating how Dua Lipa's music borrows from other artists in the past, so I was intrigued to learn that within the past week or so, Dua Lipa's "Levitating" has been hit with two copyright infringement lawsuits. The story has been reported widely, and plenty of opinions have been shared. Those opinions, suffice it to say, are running hot, and this is shaping up to be one of the more controversial musical plagiarism cases in recent memory, perhaps even rivaling the infamous "Blurred Lines" saga.

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> I'm writing to pitch a piece that investigates why there are so many action stars with character names of Jack, John, or James.

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>

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> So, I'd like to pitch an article about _why_ these lawsuits have inspired such strong, contrasting opinions. My goal is not to argue that Dua Lipa and her songwriting team did or did not "copy" passages of "Levitating" from other songs. Instead, using the methods of "forensic musicology"-that is, comparing exactly what these songs have in common musically-I can demonstrate why it is reasonable to draw a wide range of conclusions from these examples.

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> This phenomenon has been briefly reported on before in the past but there is yet to be a deep-dive into the data behind it. I've created a spreadsheet that categorizes the last 70 years of action films and the names of the hero characters. Over a third of all action film stars in the 700 films I've collected start with the letter J. I've then been able to see how this trend has changed over time and how J names characters fair in comparison to box office success. I plan to contact various experts in the field of name studies to have a better understanding of why these particular names are so repetitively used by Hollywood writers and authors.

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>

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> I've read plenty of the articles about music in _Slate_, including some contributions by other musicologists and music theorists, so I'm familiar with the tone of the venue. I just read Chris Molanphy's article about Dua Lipa's "Levitating" winning "Song of the Year" without reaching No. 1 on the charts; many of the features of the song that he describes are the ones that have allegedly been borrowed from other songs without attribution, by the way. Do you think such an article might be a good fit for _Slate_?

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> I read Slate articles often and listen to the Culture Gabfest fairly religiously and think the slightly obsessive, detailed, and light-hearted tone would fit with Slate. My research reminded me of this recent article on [why Taylor Swift holds her pen the way she does](https://slate.com/culture/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-anti-hero-video-pen-photos.html).

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>

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> I am a writer mostly focused on popular culture, data and technology. You can see my recently published book [here](https://www.jbe-books.com/products/the-leaked-recipes-cookbook-by-demetria-glace).

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>

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> Do you think this story on J-named action stars would be a good fit with Slate?

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Please refer below for the relevant editor for your pitch.

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### Culture

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Forrest Wickman (movies, music, features)

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[**forrest.wickman@slate.com**](mailto:forrest.wickman@slate.com)

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Sam Adams (television)

 **Do** let us know if you pitch your idea to multiple publications. As a general rule, if the story isn't too timely, it's ideal to wait about a week before sharing the pitch with another publication.
 **Avoid** more than one follow-up email. We try to respond to all pitches, but it often isn't possible. If after a week or so you haven't heard back, feel free to take it elsewhere.
 **Avoid** sending your pitch to another Slate editor if the first editor passes. We are in close and constant touch with each other and frequently the decision to pass is not made alone.
+To give you a sense of the kind of pitches that will catch our eyes, here is one recently from a freelancer that [became a Slate story](https://slate.com/culture/2022/03/dua-lipa-levitating-copyright-infringement-plagiarism-case.html):
+To give you a sense of the kind of pitches that will catch our eyes, here is one recently from a freelancer that [became a Slate story](https://slate.com/culture/2023/03/john-wick-james-bond-action-heroes-j-names.html):
+> I specialize in musical borrowing and the ways musicians circumvent copyright law. In fact, I've written an article evaluating how Dua Lipa's music borrows from other artists in the past, so I was intrigued to learn that within the past week or so, Dua Lipa's "Levitating" has been hit with two copyright infringement lawsuits. The story has been reported widely, and plenty of opinions have been shared. Those opinions, suffice it to say, are running hot, and this is shaping up to be one of the more controversial musical plagiarism cases in recent memory, perhaps even rivaling the infamous "Blurred Lines" saga.
+> I'm writing to pitch a piece that investigates why there are so many action stars with character names of Jack, John, or James.
+>
+> So, I'd like to pitch an article about _why_ these lawsuits have inspired such strong, contrasting opinions. My goal is not to argue that Dua Lipa and her songwriting team did or did not "copy" passages of "Levitating" from other songs. Instead, using the methods of "forensic musicology"-that is, comparing exactly what these songs have in common musically-I can demonstrate why it is reasonable to draw a wide range of conclusions from these examples.
+> This phenomenon has been briefly reported on before in the past but there is yet to be a deep-dive into the data behind it. I've created a spreadsheet that categorizes the last 70 years of action films and the names of the hero characters. Over a third of all action film stars in the 700 films I've collected start with the letter J. I've then been able to see how this trend has changed over time and how J names characters fair in comparison to box office success. I plan to contact various experts in the field of name studies to have a better understanding of why these particular names are so repetitively used by Hollywood writers and authors.
+>
+> I've read plenty of the articles about music in _Slate_, including some contributions by other musicologists and music theorists, so I'm familiar with the tone of the venue. I just read Chris Molanphy's article about Dua Lipa's "Levitating" winning "Song of the Year" without reaching No. 1 on the charts; many of the features of the song that he describes are the ones that have allegedly been borrowed from other songs without attribution, by the way. Do you think such an article might be a good fit for _Slate_?
+> I read Slate articles often and listen to the Culture Gabfest fairly religiously and think the slightly obsessive, detailed, and light-hearted tone would fit with Slate. My research reminded me of this recent article on [why Taylor Swift holds her pen the way she does](https://slate.com/culture/2022/10/taylor-swift-midnights-anti-hero-video-pen-photos.html).
+>
+> I am a writer mostly focused on popular culture, data and technology. You can see my recently published book [here](https://www.jbe-books.com/products/the-leaked-recipes-cookbook-by-demetria-glace).
+>
+> Do you think this story on J-named action stars would be a good fit with Slate?
+Please refer below for the relevant editor for your pitch.
 ### Culture
 Forrest Wickman (movies, music, features)
 [**forrest.wickman@slate.com**](mailto:forrest.wickman@slate.com)
 Sam Adams (television)
 Shannon Palus
 [**shannon.palus@slate.com**](mailto:shannon.palus@slate.com)
 ### Human Interest
+Isabelle Kohn
+Isabelle Kohn (features, relationships, sex)
 [**isabelle.kohn@slate.com**](mailto:isabelle.kohn@slate.com)
 Rebecca Onion (higher ed, school, family)
 [**rebecca.onion@slate.com**](mailto:rebecca.onion@slate.com)
 Jeffrey Bloomer (features and essays)
 Rebecca Onion (history)
 [**rebecca.onion@slate.com**](mailto:rebecca.onion@slate.com)
 Natalie Shutler (features)
 [**natalie.shutler@slate.com**](mailto:natalie.shutler@slate.com)
+Seth Maxon (political analysis and news response)
+[**seth.maxon@slate.com**](mailto:seth.maxon@slate.com)
 ### Business
 Jonathan Fischer
 [**jonathan.fischer@slate.com**](mailto:jonathan.fischer@slate.com)
 ### Tech

How to Pitch Slate

Full text changes — 20230301_rev01 to 20230401_rev01