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Michaela Makusha's Guide to Pitching
So…how do you send a pitch?? I can't lie, I still do not know! Editors can be tricky but having pitched a few places in my time, I find this formula is something I follow.
Basic Layout
First, introduce yourself to a new editor - two lines with your name, what your report on/write about and a link to your portfolio.
Dear so-and so,
I hope you are well, I'm Michaela Makusha, a journalist who focuses on youth politics, culture the internet and how they all interact with each other. I have written for The Guardian, The New European, Glamour UK and more - you can find my portfolio here.
Then, your topline - similar to a proposed headline but what is your story summed up in one line?
Then up to two paragraphs explaining the story. The who, where, what and why it is important.
With a feature/report: who are you interviewing? Have you done any reporting on this already? What is your data?
Opinion: Why are you the best person to write on this? What is your expertise/experience?
Words of wisdom - or what my various mentors tell me to stop me from being too anxious.
Pitches shouldn't be too long - editors are busy, they read a lot of emails and so you want to stand out.
Don't be too disheartened if you don't get a reply - what I have learned is that sometimes it is not you. Editors are busy and get hundreds of emails a day! And sometimes, the pitch is just not suited for that week/month.
Example 1 - a successful pitch that I sent for a story I wrote for The Observer in August 2025
Topline: UK/ European Side of the Womansphere
Compared to their US counterparts, our femosphere is far more subtle but no less effective, especially given their appearance in the 'mainstream' media here. They often focus on issues around transpeople and migration, but. Very focused on women's equality, yet anti Feminism. Feminism appears to be a completed project or a project that needs fixing in some aspects if we want to truly be equal and fix society.
Groups such as the Women's Safety Initiative - launched in April this year with tens of thousands of followers online already - led by Jess Gill and Anna McGovern, argue that migration is the main danger to women. They linked to Collective Nemesis, a French feminist group that is also anti-migration. Gill, the founder, regularly appears on GB News and is a fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education, an American right-wing think tank, and McGovern is a member of Restore Britain.
Interviews:
- Dr Eviane Leidig - Researcher and author who gathers information on the far right online and their radicalisation techniques.
- Lois Shearing - author of pink pilled - researcher into the way young women use social media on the right.
- Sophie Lewis- author of Enemy Feminisms to give historical perspective.
- RORs needed from WSI and Reform UK.
Look forward to your thoughts.
Warm regards,
Michaela
Example 2: An opinion pitch for an article I wrote for Glamour in 2024.
Disclaimer for both, I know both editors well, hence the more informal greetings!
Here is the second ever pitch I sent to a big publication - Refinery29 UK (R.I.P). It is flawed, however, as it has no topline and our of order
(I was new at this to be fair!)
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