Eater Detroit Is Seeking New Contributors #DetroitFood

Here’s how Detroit-based freelance journalists and food writers can pitch to Eater Detroit

Eater Detroit is a local news site based in Detroit reporting on restaurants and bars, dining and dining trends, food pop-ups and food trucks, and the business of food and drink throughout metro Detroit. It is part of the Eater network and under the Vox Media umbrella. Please read this guide thoroughly before pitching.

At Eater Detroit, we’re always looking for insightful pitches from reporters on a range of topics related to the industry. We are especially interested in working with those whose voices are often underrepresented in media and those with knowledge of particular food cultures that tend to be overlooked in the metro Detroit media landscape. Eater Detroit accepts pitches on the following:

• Dining and drinking maps, guides, and food crawls related to neighborhoods, cities, and cuisines in the metro area.
• Reported features on local restaurants, bars, chefs, food trends, etc. Eater Detroit is giving particular preference to pitches that focus on changes in the world of eating and drinking during, and in the aftermath, of the pandemic. We’re also open to agriculture, urban farming, and grocery pitches.
• Photography and illustrated stories featuring local restaurants or dining with a strong reported angle
• Opinion pieces with a strong news hook and voice for our Eater Voices column
• Timely news not already on Eater Detroit’s radar

Eater Detroit is especially looking for stories that haven’t been told elsewhere with a strong angle that appeals to everyday readers. We are not a trade magazine. The site does not accept pitches regarding recipes, food holidays (i.e., National Hot Dog Day), nor does it conduct restaurant reviews.

All pitches should include a subject matter with a clear angle along with how the story will be structured, what the story hopes to conclude, and why the story is relevant to the dining scene in Detroit and to Eater Detroit readers. Writers are encouraged to read the Eater ethics statement to identify any potential conflicts of interest.

Some stories may not be right for our local audience but could still potentially be a good fit for our national site. Check out Eater.com’s pitch guidelines for more information.

Please provide a short summary of who you are and your professional writing background. In your pitch, we ask that you clearly explain your angle on the topic and tell us why you’re uniquely positioned to report the story.

Here are examples of what we cover:

News

• Fed Up With Management, Great Lakes Coffee Workers in Detroit Move to Unionize
• Just in Time for Food Truck Season, Detroit Has New Rules for Mobile Vendors
• Southwest Detroit’s Beloved Taqueria El Rey Burns in a Fire
• Marrow Chef Sarah Welch Competes on Season 19 of ‘Top Chef’
• Cash Only Supper Club Is Downtown’s Swanky New Restaurant With a Strict Dress Code

Maps/Guides/Food Crawls

• Where to Dine and Drink During Pride Month in Detroit
• 16 Great Waterfront Restaurants in Northern Michigan
• In Search of Chicken Shawarma in Dearborn
• How to Eat and Drink Your Way Through Eastern Market
• 20 Great Independent Mexican Restaurants in Metro Detroit

Reported Features

• How Black Beer Fans Are Creating Their Own Spaces in Detroit’s Brewing Industry
• Detroit Home Cook Sharminara Haque Finds a Space of Her Own on TikTok
• Remembering Michael Symon’s Roast, a Restaurant With an Outsized Influence on Detroit Dining
• The Underground Taqueria That Became One of Detroit’s Restaurant Gems
• Detroit’s Kiki Louya Talks Restaurant Ownership, ‘Top Chef,’ and the Raw Chicken Incident
• Metro Detroit’s Halal Restaurants Adjust to Ramadan Service in a Pandemic

Eater Voices

• The Fight to Address Food Insecurity Goes Beyond Emergency Responses
• Corporate Restaurant Owners: Your Silence Is Deafening
• The Un-Heroic Reality of Being an ‘Essential’ Restaurant Worker

Send pitches to Serena Maria Daniels at serena.daniels@eater.com or detroit@eater.com. Please put the word “Pitch” in the email subject line with a brief description of the story.

Tips are also welcomed if you have an idea for a story but don’t want to write it. For sensitive information, there are several ways to reach out, detailed here.

Eater Detroit tries to respond to every pitch. If it’s been three weeks and you haven’t heard, feel free to resubmit. If it’s a truly timely pitch, please indicate that.

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