Scrutinise a travel section with me

One of my failings as a freelancer (along with over-hyphenation) is my disinclination to actually read some of my regular outlets. All too infrequently do I check the Guardian travel pages online, or buy the Mail on Sunday. Weirdly, I’m better at buying/reading those publications for whom I don’t, but want to, write for.

Anyway, I say this not to chastise myself but because, when I do take the time, it proves very useful.  Useful in sparking ideas, and useful in giving me a feel for the publication’s headlines — which might then lead to me pitching with a similar, good headline of my own.

To try and best showcase this, I thought I’d do it right now, as I pen this Roxstars. I’m writing on Friday morning (hello from last week!) and will concentrate on those Guardian pages.

The lead article is a list of readers’ tips, useless for freelancers like me and PRs like you. Next up is an extract from a book about Albania, so the same applies (aside from for book PRs). The following three pieces focus on typically quirky Guardian destinations: Malmo, Zimbabwe, Lincolnshire. This reinforces for me the merits of pitching somewhere offbeat. Zimbabwe is also a surprise, because I’d understood the Guardian wouldn’t cover anywhere necessitating a flight — but perhaps the terrific, sustainable story merited dispensation.

All three stories’ angles share something. A fight back “against the flat pack.” A “new kind of safari.” “As good as Yorkshire but without the tourists.” These are each championing alternatives — proposing underdog-type places or things instead of their higher-profile rivals. They leave me ever keener to find pegs like “The part of [famous destination] which most people miss”, or “[Country or area]’s Amalfi Coast — with half the crowds.”

Under the notably prominent UK section there are lists — which you or I could pitch, but the odds of success are quite long — and news stories. Then comes a notable amount of outdoorsy stuff (forest cabins, pub walks, a trail run) plus an occasional column called “An arty weekend in”, eschewing the big cities for more soulful places.

Finally, I notice an interesting piece on Greek agritourism; as much about a nice trip, it delves into how such places aid local farms. Agritourism is hardly a new thing, although the trend is said to be “burgeoning” in the Peloponnese, giving this article a slither of a hook. It’s a wholesome, rustic, sustainable story — so wholly Guardian-esque. And it suggests that just pitching a nice place (hotel, destination) won’t be enough; pitching about what’s actually happening, and what’s changing, ought to be more effective.

Food for thought. Sometimes these read-throughs inspire nothing in me, but even then I feel that they may be subliminally helpful. I hope this one provoked a few thoughts for you, and inspires you to do similarly (but not just with the Guardian) every so often.