Help us make the Mercury the best paper in East Tennessee!
If you have an idea for a spectacular new department or column, then pitch us. All ideas will be considered!
Or, if you’re an experienced reporter looking for assignments, let us know about your areas of expertise.
We especially would like to find contributors in the following areas:
• business
• state politics
• arts & entertainment
• general funniness
A few tips:
• Our focus is primarily on the Knoxville area. National and international matters aren’t really our beat—unless there are distinct local connections.
• We don’t often cover breaking news. As a magazine, we’re more interested in covering local issues in depth, giving our readers more information and context than they can find elsewhere. We try to look at “big picture” topics.
• We love to tell stories that haven’t already been told. And if we’re going to cover something that other media in town have already reported on, then we aim to have a fresh angle on it. So please don’t pitch ideas for stories that you’ve seen elsewhere.
• Don’t be afraid to pitch offbeat ideas. We might see a way to fit them. Or maybe they’ll spark other ideas. Who the heck knows!
Finally, please be patient with us as we work our way through submissions. It takes a while to assess whether something might work. And sometimes, submissions fall into the gray category of “maybe”—so we might send something back for another try. This is not a perfect process.
For further insight into the sort of reporting and writing we look for, let us point you toward the Voice of San Diego’s guidelines for reporters. They’re right on the money.
Send your pitch letter and writing samples to:
Editor Coury Turczyn guided Knoxville's alt weekly, Metro Pulse, through two eras, first as managing editor (and later executive editor) from 1992 to 2000, then as editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2014. He's also worked as a Web editor at CNET, the erstwhile G4 cable network, and HGTV.
Share this Post