Hello! I’m Kang-Chun Cheng (KC), an independent journalist and photographer from New Hampshire, based in Nairobi, Kenya (photography: The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Guardian; writing: Al Jazeera, Mekong Review, Christian Science Monitor, Where the Leaves Fall). I cover stories about environmental change, impacts of foreign aid, and outdoor adventure. I’m particularly interested in reporting from the view of communities on the ground, since local voices are often lost in international media. Recently, I’ve been examining how climate change leads to conflicts over resources, forced migration, or changing forms of livelihood.

I’m sharing some tips about pitching in the hopes that this will help you land stories close to your heart in outlets you admire. This is a consolidation of tips I’ve learned from scratch, through experience, lots of rejections and email blackholes, and a number of portfolio reviews and workshops. I studied environmental sciences and studio art for my bachelors, not journalism! 4 years ago, I had no idea what pitches were. They’re still a work in progress for me, but putting in the hours does pay off bit by bit.
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For journalists/photojournalists

Pitching is foundational for freelance journalists. The vast majority of my work comes from original pitches (not including the occasional call I get from photo editors). Some pitches manifest after long periods (months or longer) of gathering information and formulating the story in your head. Others come more quickly––such as the story I recently worked on with the Xylom–since there was a stronger time element (e.g. recent evictions of communities from their homes).

Introduce yourself in a sentence or two about what you cover, linking to your previous work. Ideally, you have a personal connection to the editor (e.g. also a member of Uproot, editor at Al Jazeera suggested I get in touch), or even you saw some work they’ve previously run (e.g. love the recent explainers about COP28––perhaps this could help expand your coverage). You’re trying to make the recipient feel that this is a bespoke pitch and that you’ve really thought about why this story may be a good fit! 

Capture the heart of your story in a few sentences, mention if there’s a time peg or an evergreen story, and why it’s a good fit for the publication’s readers (e.g. this solutions-oriented story––told from the underreported angle of Indigenous communities–– is exactly the type of story that NPR’s Goats and Soda column tends to run). 

Here, I sign off and include the more extensive pitch below in the body of the email–not as an attachment! (If I’m pitching as a photo essay or features + accompanying photos, I attach 4-6 low res images and explain that this is for visual reference. If the editor is interested, they may ask to see more.) You want to streamline the process so it’s as easy to access as possible.

Now, it’s time to expand on the nutgraf––a short paragraph that summarizes the main points of the story at hand–– a bit more––can you hyperlink your pitch with data/existing research to illuminate scale or connect it with a broader phenomenon, or include quotes from an expert to show that you’ve done some pre-reporting? [check on the specific requirements of the outlet, most are fine with hyperlinks, some are not].

Include the scope by which you envision your story! I generally pitch as both the writer and photographer and try to suggest something that makes sense for both the story and the outlet (e.g. 1800-word feature and accompanying photography (4-6 images).

I also attach photos for visual reference–if not of the place, then of a similar subject (e.g. also from the Great Rift Valley region, photos from another fisheries story I recently worked on).

For stories that include ground reporting, include details about logistics and security if relevant (e.g. fly from Nairobi to Lodwar, 4-day reporting trip to access the different locations of Lokichar and Kapedo, will require a car hire at X/day and X in guide fees).

I personally pitch the same story to multiple outlets, especially if it’s a story big enough to publish in different forms (feature, photo essay). But there are hyper-specific stories where I would have a hard time seeing it go anywhere else (e.g. Kenya’s migration gravel race for Bicycling). This may be controversial advice, but in this economy, what freelancer has the bandwidth to wait 2 weeks––possibly stretching into months or never––for editors to reply? But at the same time, I try to be discerning and realistic with how many different iterations of a story I can do with fresh sources or quotes, if need be.
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For editors

It’s important to remember that at the other end of the pitch is a person who is excited by the prospect of working with you! Editorial schedules can be finicky and difficult to control, but clear and transparent communication should be the baseline.

If the story is interesting but not quite the angle or framing you’re interested in, take a quick look at their portfolio to see if you can meet somewhere in the middle. I’m personally open to adjusting the scope of most stories I pitch.

I’ve had photo editors double-book photographers for the same assignment, and editors rescind commitments to work together. Things happen, but these experiences seemed avoidable and always left me feeling very powerless. Please, try to avoid stringing the other person––most likely a freelancer––as much as possible.

At the end of the day, please remember that there’s countless things out of your control: the nature of the news cycle, what other stories the editor(s) have scheduled, the receptiveness of the editor/ how responsive they are to emails. I’ve had pitches turned down because the magazine was already running stories with themes too similar for their liking (in the most recent case, it was fishing) and had stories without major time pegs delayed for months due to current events (and therefore, the pay was also delayed–same with magazines that put printing schedules on hold indefinitely…). I try my best not to fixate on these frustrations–it helps that I always have multiple stories on deck. Solidarity from exchanging experiences, tips, and contacts with other journalists––I’m lucky to have a great community in Nairobi––also helps. Good luck out there, we need it in this industry :)