I had an interesting conversation with a freelancer a few weeks back. After providing him with a tour of the site he suggested creating a similar vetting process which freelancers could use to pitch story ideas to editors. This feature is now enabled on the site.

To access it, you'll need to login into your news media profile (or create your news media account). Click the submit story idea link on the left under your account information. Complete the vetting Q&A and click submit.

Note: If you don't want to share your story idea with others make sure you've checked the hidden box. To send to a particular editor click the send to media tab at the top and fill out the form and questions.

It's a good idea to check the send yourself a copy box so you have a record of what you sent. Let me know how it goes.