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Punteha van Terheyden has been writing and editing true-life stories for 12 years on women's magazines such as Take a Break.She set up her own platform, Lacuna Voices, to give a home to the stories the traditional media won't take. In this episode we discuss modernising the traditional mould of what makes a good real-life story, what PRs can add to a press release to get a story picked up and why journalism is the worst industry for not getting email replies.

What is 'branded journalism', and how does the content get commissioned? Are there still opportunities for PRs and writers to pitch? This month's guest is Cate Sevilla, who has held editorial roles on various national digital titles such as BuzzFeed and The Pool, and who now works on branded titles.Plus, why the media is the only industry to delay payment to writers and how freelance writers are fighting back.

Stewart Rogers is managing editor of Grit Daily. He shares his advice on good and bad pitches, including how much lead time is needed, how to suggest an 'exclusive' and the damaging fallout that can happen when PRs use mailing lists to contact journalists.Grit Daily is a leading tech news publication with lifestyle and entertainment thrown in. It has 2 million readers per month.

How can you get a story into some of the most popular women's magazines? The different sections in Chat, Woman and Woman's Own include 'From the Heart', 'Letter's To', 'Shock Reads', 'The Moment I Knew,' 'Call That Justice,' 'Don't Tell me I Can't' and many more.Commissioning editor Emmie Harrison West talks about what sets them apart, how she finds these stories, and why journalism is so important to give a platform to charities and women with brave or inspirational stories.

Real Leaders is a global print and digital publication focussing on leadership towards sustainable goals, with 140k+ readers for the print and digital edition combined.Grant shares the pillars that it bases its content on, what he's looking for in a story during coronavirus, the difference between pitching for online and print and the worst media pitch he's come across.

Scott Carey oversees stories on ComputerWorld, TechWorld, CIO and more with an audience of up to 3 million page views a month.In this episode he shares exactly what he's looking for in a story for their different audiences, how to pique the interest of a journalist on his team and why they don't 'do' thought leadership.

Benjamin Chiou, Editor of Raconteur, the business pull-out in The Times, says he receives more pitches from PRs than ever. Why is there more PR noise and what can you put in your pitches to stand out? Plus, how he's looking for new and diverse writers to join the team of freelancers.

Content for a B2B title is totally different to the consumer media. How you pitch stories should also be different. Lawrence Gosling edits titles like smallbusiness.co.uk and Information Age. He shares insights into story planning, why clickbait doesn't work in B2B and what they need experts in. 

Sophie Gallagher is deputy editor of Indy Life - the lifestyle section of independent.co.uk, which has more than 90 million visits per month.Her section covers health, travel, food, dating and more. She shares how the section is made up, when they plan their stories and what makes a good and bad pitch - both from writers and PRs.

ITV London News has almost half a million viewers a night. Richard Pollins heads up the planning desk, which is where every story starts. He shares secrets from the newsroom including when the all-important planning meeting takes place, why human stories are important and the how NOT to pitch a story.

Huff Post UK recently launched two new sections - HuffPost Opinion and HuffPost Personal, a collection of first-person pieces based on singular issues. Here commissioning editor Charlie Lindlar shares what he looks for in a story and how to pitch, plus a look at the other regular slots across Huff Post UK.

Ella Dove is commissioning editor for Red, Good Housekeeping and Prima magazine.In this episode she tells us the different profile slots across the different magazines, such as ’Women on Top’ and ‘Women who Launch’, and what she looks for in each. Plus how long to make your pitch, and how to pitch for a review.Ella is also author of Five Steps to Happy, a novel about a struggling actress who loses a leg.

This episode we look into the make-up of easyJet Traveller magazine. Why you should never pitch: 'I've just been on holiday to X, would you want a write-up on it?', why food PRs have the best chance of pitching ideas and the rise of branded journalism and why it's a great model for the media.

Suchandrika Chakrabarti is a freelance journalist writing for New Statesman, Raconteur, Yahoo News and others. In her 13 year media career she has reported and edited for national newspapers and international news agencies. She hosts her own podcast called 'The Freelance Pod'.Suchandrika talks about what makes a profile piece for the New Statesman, how she uses experts for Raconteur and how to pitch. 

Pitching stories or ideas to the media is hard. Each episode, author and journalist-turned PR, Helen Croydon interviews a commissioning editor, writer or producer at a high profile media outlet on what, why, who and when they commission a story. With a few of their best anecdotes from the newsroom too. If you’ve ever wondered how the news is made and where journalists find interviewees, this is a fascinating listen.