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Pitching the Beeb: a Radio College FAQ

One of the questions Radio College is asked most frequently by US producers is how to sell material to the BBC. After putting people off for a couple of years we decided to take a crack at answering. We got some leads from an editor at BBC and PRI's The World and got up very early one morning to make some calls to London. (The time difference is 8 hours ahead from the Pacific Coast, 5 hours from the Atlantic Coast).

The initials BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) could just as easily stand for Byzantine Bureaucracy Center. The BBC is so large and sprawling that it has the potential to be Kafkaesque except that this is England, not Eastern Europe, so there's a friendly, Pythonesque quality to the chaotic enormity of it all. If it was Kafkaesque, the all-powerful switchboard operators would be cruel dominatrixes who would unplug your call just to be spiteful, but these switchboard operators are more in the spirit of jolly reference librarians. They know so much about the place that you almost feel you could pitch your stories to them. Don't try that, but if you get stuck, remember that the switchboard operators are the central brains -- the only ones who know how the whole place works. Their number, the key to the magic kingdom, is 011-44-207-240-3456.

To sell what the Brits call "packages" (features) or news dispatches (spots) to the BBC World Service (which is the international service of the BBC) there are two phone numbers. Both are called "The Planning Department." The "Packages Planning Department" sounds like a section of Santa's toy warehouse, but in fact it's the part of the BBC that buys 3-4 minute features for inclusion on World Service programmes (shows) from Monday thru Friday. The Packages Planning number from the US is O11-44-207-557-3670. One person to talk to is Ed Buscall. However, the best way to pitch is probably by email. The Packages Planning Department has its own email address: wsnpplanning.unit at bbc.co.uk.

Now, if you should be so unlucky as to be pitching a package (feature) for inclusion over the weekend, you shouldn't call the Packages Planning Department because they don't work at weekends. In that case you should call the "News Dispatches Planning Department" because they do the weekend stuff. You should also call the News Dispatches Planning Department if you want to sell dispatches (spots) of one minute or less at any time of the week or weekend. A very nice person there is Amy Gregson. The News Dispatches Planning Department is 011 44 207 557 2724.

To get your work on Radio 4's The Today Show (BBC's domestic equivalent of Morning Edition) pitch British-related stories through the US Washington bureau. Either call (202) 223-2050, or email cara.swift at bbc.co.uk . An editor at The World points out, "it's best to keep in mind that all the newsrooms, and especially this one, are fairly frantic places, so it's best to have as focused a request as possible." Alternatively you can pitch editor Liliane Landor in London at liliane.landor at bbc.co.uk.

For Radio 4's PM (BBC's domestic equivalent of All Things Considered), pitch through the Washington bureau (as above).

For Radio 4's World at One, a midday news program, send story ideas to wato.comissioning at bbc.co.uk.

For other programmes (shows), try to find out the name of the programme and then use the main switchboard in London to be put through to that particular team. Go to the BBC's website to find out more about the programmes. Some of the other shows on the BBC World Service are called Focus on Faith, which is a religious show (Lois Wheeler is the editor), One Planet, which is an environmental show (Annette MacKenzie is the editor), and Front Row, which is an arts show (John Boundy is the editor on this show). Using the format firstname.lastname at bbc.co.uk, you could also try emailing these people with your ideas directly. (Try different spellings if it doesn't work first time).

These are only a few from the mountain of programmes that the BBC puts out. Again, check the website (at http://www.bbc.co.uk/) for more information. The BBC operates 5 different radio "stations" or services domestically. Radio One is pop music, Radio Two is light music and current affairs, Radio Three is Classical Music with some experimental sound venues, Radio Four is hard news and Radio Five is a diverse mix of programming. When you go to the website, at the far bottom of the pull down tab on the left of the screen you will find links for all five domestic "stations" and the World Service.

Another option is to call Broadcast House and ask for the Foreign Duty Editor, for domestic (not World Service) news spots and story leads. Broadcast House is 011 44 207 580 4468.

OK. So that's what we know so far. This page is a work in progress. If you use it and have success or if you find new information, please share it with us at Radio College so that we can pass it on to others. Our principle is that by sharing information and resources, we strengthen the field for all.