This document provides guidance to student journalists on finding compelling stories and angles. It recommends actively seeking out stories by caring about people, conducting whole school surveys, assigning beats to staffers, holding focus groups, randomly or specifically selecting students to profile, getting teacher recommendations, being observant, asking people questions, and considering news values like proximity, timeliness, impact, prominence, conflict, and entertainment. Video links are also provided as additional resources. The overall message is that there are many ways to find interesting stories if journalists open their eyes and ears to the people and events around them.

1. Finding Stories & Angles
Lizabeth A. Walsh, MJE

2. Stories are everywhere
Be interested to create an interesting story.
If you act like you care about people, you will have
opportunities to care about them.
If you care about them, you will want to tell their
stories.
Whole school surveys
Assigned beats
Focus groups
Randomly selected students
Specifically selected students
Teacher recommendations
Open your eyes and ears
Ask people about themselves

3. Video 1
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500617_162-
6084880.html

4. Whole school surveys
 Obtain administrative approval
 Get teacher buy-in (bribes can work)
 Have teachers support your goal
 Do it on one day, collect it that day
 Sort& read all the surveys as a sponge
activity or “bonus time” activity (this can
be extra credit, an assigned grade, or a
“work night” activity)

5. Assigned beats
 Journalistic approach to coverage
 Setup a system for getting and reporting
information
 Have share time so staffers are made aware
of interesting events (overlap coverage)
A regular beat report IS a grade and has
academic merit

6. Video 2
 http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?
id=618642n

7. Focus Groups
 Invitations- specific vs. general topics
 Scheduled events- organized & prepared
 On-the-spot- stop in to a meeting
 Surveys- tailor questions to each group
 Infiltrate the group- have staffers join

8. Randomly selected students
 Throw a dart
 Every Nth person
 Color of the day
 Musical pointing

9. Video 3
 http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?
id=618642n

10. Specifically selected students
 Everyone who had only 1 entry last year
 Students
who are in a given group or
demographic designation
 Students our staffers know (1 degree)
 Students staffers’ friends know (2 degrees)
 Students the friends know (3 degrees)

11. Teacher recommendations
 Emails to teachers
 Don’t just ask for “kids who are different”
 Counselors also have access to students
 Can be standouts or just interesting

12. Video 4
 http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?
id=618642n

13. Open your eyes & ears
 Hallway observations are valuable
 Stay IN at lunch
 Go OUT at lunch
 Come to school extra early
 Stay extra late
 Make it a contest to find the best story

14. Ask people about themselves
 Insteadof staying in your comfort zone,
begin conversations with others
 Comment on a piece of clothing, an
accessory, a homework assignment, a
situation, the weather- whatever
 Learn to ask questions and listen more
than you talk- the one who leaves with the
most information wins, and you want to win.

15. Angles & Approaches
NEWS VALUES
Proximity
Currency / Timeliness
Impact
Prominence
Conflict
Entertainment

16. Video 5
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?
id=6083691n

17. Proximity
 How close is the event to your school?
 Isthe event in your town or surrounding
area? (city, county, region, state, country, etc.)
 How much is it reported in local news?
 Ifit’s not close, it doesn’t have proximity,
but that doesn’t remove it from the list, it
just doesn’t get full points for MOST
IMPORTANT

18. Currency / Timeliness
 Since
the book comes out in May (or
August), it needs to be a story that still
matters.
 Historical content matters.
 Evergreen material matters.

19. Impact
 How many people were affected?
 In what way were they affected?
 How significant were the effects?
 How many people could relate to this?

20. Prominence
 Important people matter to others.
 Famous people anchor the year in their
timeliness or popularity
 Student Body Officers, Elected Queens &
Kings, Teachers & Administrators, etc.
 Politicians,
School Board members,
Superintendent, etc.

21. Conflict
 If it bleeds, it leads (gross!)
 Teenagers can relate to drama
 We like to hear about a problem- we get
emotionally involved
 People who overcome tragedy are inspiring

22. Entertainment
 Funny isn’t universal, but it’s close
 Bizarre traits or events catch our attention
 Thisis pretty much the excuse for telling a
story when it doesn’t have any other news
value at all

23. All materials presented…
 Remain the property and copyright of the various
owners of the original works.
 These yearbook samples were presented at BALFOUR
workshops for the benefit of their clients and
customers.
 Please do not alter these presentations.
 Use of these shows is intended only for individual
adviser-to-staff classroom teaching, not for publication
or reproduction in any form for any type of
presentation at a conference, camp, convention, or
gathering of multiple schools’ staffs.