Pitches wanted (marginalized sectors, women) (worldwide) | $350 day rate

COMPANY/PUBLICATION: CNN'S STORIES FROM THE MARGINS 

Deadline: 24 January 2023

Christine Mungai, Series Editor at CNN, is looking for pitches:

I'm incredibly excited to be curating and editing a new series for CNN As Equals that we're calling Stories from the Margins. We're looking for stories that reveal, explain, or investigate some facet of what it’s like to belong to certain categories of women whose stories remain largely out of view. We're not looking for "parachute journalism", but deep stories from storytellers who are from these backgrounds or have covered these underreported groups extensively.

CALL FOR PITCHES

CNN’s gender inequality reporting team As Equals is seeking pitches for a new series: Stories from the Margins. There are not enough stories about the social, economic, cultural, and political systems that result in women’s life outcomes being worse than men’s in almost every part of the world. Even within the stories told about women, there are certain categories of women who are even more invisible. This series exists to highlight their stories and give a platform to the storytellers who are from these backgrounds or have covered these underreported groups extensively.

As Equals is seeking pitches for stories that reveal, explain, or investigate some facet of what it’s like to belong to a group that’s often largely out of view – including, but not limited to:

• Sex workers
• Domestic workers
• Incarcerated women
• Undocumented women or those living in borderlands
• Older women (age 45+)
• Trans women and non-binary people
• Women from religious minorities and stories about religious women that defy the mainstream narratives
• Disabled women
• Indigenous women

Your story should have strong, complex characters, not helpless victims portrayed simply as the embodiment of The Problem. We want real, three-dimensional, human beings and would strongly prefer pitches from the global south. Most importantly, your story should expose or explain a system from laws to policies or social norms, that impact women’s lives, either positively or negatively.

We’re looking primarily for written articles, though we can consider strong photojournalism and video pitches.

Before sending us your pitch, ensure your idea brings fresh perspective to an issue, and that you’ve been studying or following your topic closely and can see what others have missed. It is also important that your idea is evergreen, and that you can tell your story to a global audience. You can read more about the kinds of stories we tell here.

On average, each story will be about 2,000 words long, and successful journalists will be paid a day rate of US$350. The total number of days to report, write and edit will be worked out with your editor.

As Equals will also bring the successful journalists together a number of times virtually, so they can get to know each other and other journalists from CNN and beyond -- strengthening the networks of the participating storytellers.

Got a strong story to tell? Submit your pitch to As Equals here by January 24, 2023. If you experience any difficulties with the form, send an email to the series editor, Christine Mungai, at christine.mungai@wmcontractor.com and we’ll be happy to help you. To learn more about As Equals, read our FAQs here.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

• Submissions: Via the webform
• Website: https://edition.cnn.com/

TO HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR PITCH:

• Learn more about the publication: CNN is a news and information destination that seeks to inform, engage and empower the world. As Equals is a CNN series that aims to reveal what systemic gender inequality looks like. With stories on underreported issues in underreported parts of the world, told by underrepresented voices, As Equals intends to spotlight taboo subjects, use innovative presentations and effect change. More information here.
• Read through a selection of recent As Equals stories/articles on its website.
• Check out our collection of pitch excerpts on this page and find more sample pitches at The Open Notebook Database and at SuccessfulPitches.com.
• Do not forget to end your pitch with (1) a short introduction about yourself; (2) a paragraph highlighting your writing experience, relevant credentials and publication credits; and (3) links to your strongest work or portfolio, and online profile.

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