Hi Michael,
I think the first thing I would do would be call the paper/station you're pitching to and find out who you should be emailing it to. That way - like you say, it's not lost in the "contact us" section - and perhaps the person will have a heads up it's coming, so not automatically delete it.
We've always been told when we're pitching only to include the idea, the hook etc... I wouldn't be sending anyone my articles before they have actually acknowledged a) i exist b) they want it!
Hope that helps... even if it is a bit delayed
