Eater San Diego Is Seeking New Contributors

Eater San Diego is a local news site based in San Diego that reports on restaurants and bars, chefs, dining and dining trends, food pop-ups and food trucks, and the business of restaurants throughout the city. It is part of the Eater network and under the Vox Media umbrella.

Eater San Diego accepts pitches related to the local food scene and Baja California from freelance contributors on the following:

• Dining and drinking maps, guides, and food crawls related to neighborhoods, cities, and cuisines in the San Diego area.
• Reported features on local restaurants, bars, chefs, food trends, etc. Eater San Diego is giving particular preference to pitches that focus on changes in the world of eating and drinking during the pandemic. We’re also open to agriculture, urban farming, and grocery pitches with a clear service focus or narrative.
• Photographed 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 San Diego’s radar

Those interested in contributing are encouraged to read the Eater ethics statement to identify any potential conflicts of interest.

The site does not accept pitches about recipes, home cooking, or food holidays (as in, National Hot Dog Day) or conduct restaurant reviews. While Eater San Diego does occasionally accept opinion pieces and personal narratives, those pitches must come with a strong writing voice, clear conclusions based in fact or with solid evidence, and a reason to exist on Eater San Diego specifically.

All pitches should include a subject matter with a clear angle, an overview of how the story will be structured and what the story hopes to conclude, and an obvious connection to the dining scene in San Diego and greater Baja California.

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.

When submitting a pitch as a writer new to Eater San Diego, please provide a short summary of who you are and why you want to write this story, as well as links to any previous relevant work.

Here are examples of what Eater San Diego covers:

News/Reports/Trends

• Chelsea Coleman Is a Champion of Natural Wine at the Rose and Beyond
• Chef Claudette Zepeda’s Menu at Vaga Reflects a Lifetime of Living and Eating in San Diego
• With Callie, Travis Swikard Hopes to Help Spotlight San Diego’s Culinary Scene

Dining Guides and Maps

• An Eater’s Guide to San Diego
• San Diego’s Top Drive-Thru Taco Shops
• What to Eat at San Diego’s Petco Park, Home of the Padres
• The 15 Essential Restaurants in Tijuana, Mexico

Send pitches to Eater San Diego editor Candice Woo at candice@eater.com or to sandiego@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 San Diego 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.