CosmoGIRL! Magazine
224 West 57th Street
3rd Floor
New York, NY 10019
212/841-8473
Move over, diamonds. Cosmo wants to be a girl's best friend. That's the motto behind Cosmopolitan's little sister spinoff, CosmoGIRL! Magazine, which started in 1999, led by
Editor-In-Chief Atoosa Rubenstein. Just like its older competitors, Seventeen, YM and Jump!, CosmoGIRL! Magazine delivers the goods on fashion, beauty, health, fitness, dating and
celebrities. And unlike its namesake, CosmoGIRL! Sticks strictly to the high school-aged crowd, between 12 and 17.
Content/Contacts
CosmoGIRL! Magazine editors are looking for stories about amazing teenagers and young women who persevered against all odds or have achieved incredible goals. They're also
interested in the newest and coolest products, books, gadgets, technologies and bands.
"If there is something new out there that teens will be interested in, we want to know about it," says Executive Editor Sabrina Solin Weill.
The editorial assistants and their respective beats are:
- Deirdre Fisher is looking for simple stories about guys, love and romance, but also stories about compelling social issues and any new books or authors;
- Amanda McKnight writes stories about careers, extraordinary teenagers, family and friendship issues. She's also the editor to pitch if your story doesn't fall into one of the
pre-defined categories; - Korey Karnes writes stories about school or self-esteem;
- Marina Khidekel wants entertainment ideas;
- Fashion Assistant Lauren Greene wants fashion ideas;
- Kristen Oldham is the best contact for beauty-related pitches.
Pitch Tips
Don't head straight for Rubenstein with your latest pitch. Instead, contact the aforementioned editorial assistants by mail, and follow up with a phone call.
For exclusive pitches, PR people should contact Amanda McKnight, who is also the assistant to Deputy Editor Susan Schulz. Reaching her is still best by snail mail, but for
time-sensitive stories, phone calls are welcome.
As with other Hearst publications, it's good idea to pitch with CosmoGIRL! Magazine's age demographic in mind. But that doesn't mean your pitch has to lack edge or speak to
girls as if they're naive daffodils! Stories in recent issues include: "Jessica Simpson: She's No Prude," "The Top 4 Lies Guys Tell: Don't Be Fooled Again!" and "How To Have More
Fun This Weekend."
Comments
The most surefire way to annoy an editor is to "somehow get ahold of our e-mail, then send us a lot of e-mails," Weill says.
Weill adds that the worst situation is when a PR person "does this to a whole bunch of people on staff, because we all then end up e-mailing each other about the same idea,
which is a waste of everyone's time."
However, Weill notes that this is rare, and most often, editors have good relationships with PR people, who are sensitive to the magazine's ways.
A word to the wise -- CosmoGIRL! Magazine prides itself on writing from young women that the reader can relate to, in the voice of a hip confidante, offering advice,
encouragement and inspiration.