BALDWIN’S PITCHING GUIDE
All Black Everything with Power and Purpose
BALDWIN is a digital publication for conscious Black taste-makers. We are thrilled to have you contribute to our brand of dedicated social justice through news and culture.
BALDWIN is covered in 4 sections:
BULLET
BULLET covers education, politics, and business. Through in-depth reporting, this section examines Black issues today while reporting on the news as it relates to the Black Community. We accept long-form essays and critiques on the key topics BULLET covers, in addition to interviews with experts in the above fields. When pitching an interview, consider the angle, making it current, while shying away from broad topics that have no focus. If the interview subject and story has promise, the editors at BALDWIN may work with you on development to fine tune and sharpen the focus.
BALDWIN BITES
By far our largest section, BALDWIN BITES covers food, travel, entertainment, and health. Keeping our editorial mission in mind, we are committed to accepting pitches that explore these subjects from the perspective of how they impact our audience. We are specifically interested in new and exciting trends, destination features, recipes based on the culture, and essays on the Black experience. Interviews for this section should focus on movers and shakers in the culture. We are interested in people who are creating change in our community through any medium whether it be music, television, or film.
BEAUTY by BALDWIN
Through thoughtful analysis of the luxury and beauty markets, BEAUTY by BALDWIN covers style, hair, and makeup from a deeper perspective as it relates to our audience. We are specifically looking for thought-provoking essays and critiques on the industry, interviews with interesting people, and profiles of new trends.
BALDWIN BALLER
BALDWIN BALLER is our sports section. In consistency with our brand narrative and audience, we cover topics in sports that are of interest exclusively to Black people. With BALDWIN BALLER being our newest section, we are initially ONLY looking for pitches that cover basketball, football, and boxing. Stories can include thoughtful analysis of news involving athletes of note, coverage of games, statistics, and exclusive interviews.
OTHER EDITORIAL OPPORTUNITIES
Episode Recaps
Overseen by culture editor Bianca Gregg, our episode recaps are among our most popular editorial series. Is there a show you’re obsessed with? A program that really pushes the envelope? As our stories continue to gain more visibility, we are interested in receiving submissions for regular episode recaps on the shows you’re watching.
THE FORMAT:
Columns 800–1200 words
Long-Form Essays 1200–3000 words
Enterprise Journalism 1200–3000 words
Newsy Items 350–750 words
Episode Recaps 500–1000 words
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS
Photographers and Videographers
While Medium is primarily a writing outlet, BALDWIN publishes photo essays and original video that support our four sections as it relates to our audience and core mission. What is most important in this case is the artistic mission which ranges between 200–300 words. Videos are additionally published on our YouTube channel.
HOW TO PITCH
Send an email to: mediumbaldwin@gmail.com and include the following:
1. In the Subject Line: “PITCH: YOUR NAME and the Section (BALDWIN BITES, BULLET, BEAUTY by BALDWIN, or BALDWIN BALLER)”
2. In the Body of the Email: A 3–5 sentence summary of what you want to write and the proposed format
3. A 3-sentence summary of your writing career. If this is your first-time publishing, we are honored that you’re considering us. Attach any sample of writing you may have (links to stuff online, blog entries, even personal stuff that you’ve written that never got published — we need to see something).
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Our editorial team reviews ALL pitches and will get back to you within 7–10 business days. Once your pitch is accepted, you will be asked to create a medium.com account for submission. This is to ensure you’ll get paid. The process is easy.
BALDWIN does not handle payment directly. Financials are handled through Medium’s Partner Program. More information can be found here.
