So, at the end of September, I received an email. I won’t say who it was from, because it wasn’t sent to me for public consumption and I don’t want to embarrass the sender.
It was a pitch, not just for a story, but for a cover story. About six weeks off, in November. Journalists of all stripes have a well-earned reputation as procrastinators — thank God for the deadlines, or we would never get anything done — so I didn’t look beyond the subject line: “Editorial COVER PITCH for November from …”
I must pause here to confess that I was skeptical. Given the sender, I shouldn’t have been … and that’s why I call this admission a confession, too. Sorry. Such skepticism is in most editors’ DNA.
But, as October progressed and I needed to take inventory of what was planned for November, I couldn’t put off opening the email and reading it.
And damn if it wasn’t a good idea.
There were four strong musical events in November. I don’t know if we would have written a cover story for any one of them … but all four together? The emailer was right, this was an exceptional lineup.
There are two takeaways from this, I think.
First, Central New Yorkers are lucky. These are very talented artists putting together first-class shows. That doesn’t happen in a lot of communities our size. So get out to these if you can. You won’t be disappointed.
Second, my native skepticism notwithstanding, New Times readers should pitch stories to me. My enthusiasm might lag a little, but in the end my mind is open, and sometimes the best ideas come from you. Share a good idea with me, and you won’t be ignored.
Read this week’s Cover Story HERE
Larry Dietrich is the Editor-in-Chief at the Syracuse New Times.
Make your pitch to Larry – HERE
