Nothing Ever Happens Here: Story ideas and where to find them
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This presentation is perfect for high school student media staffs who need help finding story ideas. Created by Candace Perkins Bowen, Director of the Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University, and revised by Susan Hathaway Tantillo, a retired high school journalism teacher/adviser, the slides are in three parts. First, questions advisers can use with their media staffs to brainstorm ideas. Second, important resources for both advisers and their students to explore for story ideas to localize. Third, essential parts of any story idea assignment to avoid having students turn in a one-word topic and think that's an idea.
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Nothing Ever Happens Here: Story ideas and where to find them
- 1. Nothing ever happens here…
- 2. Story ideas AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE Center for Scholastic Journalism Kent State University Revised and presented by Susan Hathaway Tantillo, MJE IJEA Fall Conference University of Illinois Sept. 12, 2014
- 3. Nothing is going on here… • Nobody has any ideas • We’ve covered all of this before. • Our town is so boring. • Students don’t read the paper anyway. • Yadda yadda yadda
- 4. Why not ask yourself some questions? • What has made me angry lately? • Wh a t h a v e I b e e n c u r i o u s a b o u t ? • Wh a t am I p l a n n i n g t o b u y ? • Wh a t d i d my b e s t f r i e n d j u s t a s k ? • Wh a t am I wo r r i e d a b o u t ?
- 5. And where are the sources you need? Experts Spokespersons Doctors County health officials Lawyers Police officers College profs Auto mechanics Store employees Company representatives Red Cross volunteer Even a school public relations person
- 6. And where are the sources you need? Reactive But not… Ones who attended an event Ones who have used a product Ones who have experienced a situation The first five clueless kids in the hall.
- 7. The answers are your stories!
- 8. Resources COLUMBIA SCHOLASTIC PRES S AS SOCIATION HTTP: / /BIT.LY/ SPRGREENMANPOSTERS 4 POSTERS TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT 50 IDEAS FOR COVERAGE 2 5 WAYS TO GENERATE STORY IDEAS HOW TO DECIDE CONTENT S HOW TO ESTABLI SH GOALS AND ROLES
- 9. Resources HTTP: / /KSUASNE.ORG/CATEGORY/STORY - IDEAS-201 4/ GO HERE FOR AN ARCHIVE OF STORY IDEAS GENERATED BY PARTICIPANTS I N 2 0 1 4 ’ S REYNOLDS HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM INSTITUTE AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY FIGURE OUT WAYS TO LOCALIZE
- 10. Resources HTTP: / /STUDENTPRESS.ORG/NSPA/CONTESTS.HTML#NPM TAKES YOU TO NEWSPAPER AND ONLINE SITE PACEMAKER WINNERS AND FINALISTS LOOK FOR THEIR LINKS TO SEE ISSUES AND CURRENT WEBSITES
- 11. Resources L O O K F O R W H A T ’ S T R E N D I N G ON TWITTER IN HASHTAGS ON FACEBOOK AND FIGURE OUT WAYS TO LOCALIZE FOLLOW CANDACEPB ON TWITTER OR CHECK FOR #YOURSTORIES SHE POSTS IDEAS NEARLY EVERY DAY
- 12. Resources CREATE A CHATROOM FOR STUDENT MEDIA STAFFS TO BRAINSTORM
- 13. Resources ASK YOUR TWITTER FOLLOWERS
- 14. Resources SURVEY YOUR ENTIRE SCHOOL OR CONDUCT FOCUS GROUPS
- 15. Story idea assignment BECAUSE YOU WANT MORE THAN A SINGLE - WORD IDEA (HOMECOMING) ANY GOOD S T O R Y I D E A S H O U L D I N C L U D E …
- 16. Story idea assignment THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE IDEA IN A SENTENCE
- 17. Story idea assignment A FEW KEY QUESTIONS
- 18. Story idea assignment A LIST OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES (BOTH PEOPLE AND PAPER) NOT JUST THE FIRST FIVE CLUELESS KIDS IN THE HALL A N D N O T M E D I A S T A F F S T U D E N T S ’ F R I E N D S
- 19. Story idea assignment A RELATED SURVEY IDEA
- 20. Story idea assignment A RELATED EDITORIAL IDEA
- 21. Story idea assignment IDEAS FOR VISUALS
- 22. Story idea assignment IDEAS FOR PRINT SIDEBARS ( F R O M “ I N S I D E R E P O R T I N G , ” 3RD ED. , BY TIM HARROWER) FAST-FACTS BOX BIO BOX WEBSITE LINKS LIST CHECKLIST INDEX GLOSSARY QUIZ Q & A
- 23. Story idea assignment MORE IDEAS FOR PRINT SIDEBARS (FROM “ I N S I D E R E P O R T I N G , ” 3 RD ED. , BY TIM HARROWER) EXCERPT OPINION POLL MAP CHART DIAGRAM TABLE TIMELINE QUOTE COLLECTION STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
- 24. Story idea assignment IDEAS FOR ONLINE SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS (FROM “ I N S I D E R E P O R T I N G , ” 3 RD ED. , BY TIM HARROWER) FAST-FACT BOX LIFTOUT QUOTE QUOTE COLLECTION STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE CHECKLIST DIAGRAM Q & A MAP CHART
- 25. Story idea assignment IDEAS FOR ONLINE SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS (FROM “ I N S I D E R E P O R T I N G , ” 3 RD ED. , BY TIM HARROWER) TOP 10 LIST BIO BOX TABLE QUIZ TIMELINE GLOSSARY
- 26. Story idea assignment IDEAS FOR MULTIMEDIA OPTIONS (FROM “ I N S I D E R E P O R T I N G , ” 3RD ED. , BY TIM HARROWER) PHOTO/MUG SHOT PHOTO GALLERY NARRATED SLIDESHOW VIDEO CLIP AUDIO EXCERPT PODCAST WEBCAM LIVE WEBCAST ANIMATED GRAPHIC
- 27. Story idea assignment IDEAS FOR LINK OPTIONS (FROM “ I N S I D E R E P O R T I N G , ” 3 RD ED. , BY TIM HARROWER) PREVIOUS STORIES OTHER ONLINE STORIES INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS COLUMNS/EDITORIALS ORGANIZATIONS ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS BLOGS SOURCES CITED IN THE TEXT
- 28. Story idea assignment IDEAS FOR USER PARTICIPATION OPTIONS (FROM “ I N S I D E R E P O R T I N G , ” 3 RD ED. , BY TIM HARROWER) COMMENTS ONLINE POLL DISCUSSION GROUP LIVE CHAT CONTEST INTERACTIVE QUIZ REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REQUEST FOR PHOTOS/VIDEOS
Editor's Notes
- Angry: “My sister wore my sweater, and I was really mad! But that’s not news!” But is it? How about siblings getting along, with quotes from family counselors plus “real” people. Angry: “I had to pay adult price at the movie but I still can’t see shows rated R.” How ARE movie ratings assigned? What does your local theater choose and why? Or can they? Curious: New construction in town, and does that equal more jobs or more traffic or….? Curious: Don’t report rumors but do check them out. Raising the cost to park on campus? Yes, but the whole lot is being resurfaced and what does that cost? Consumer reporting: computers (don’t get stuck with the wrong one for your major in college!), iPad, new iPhone, Kindle, used cars, etc. Conduct a consumer survey, a good way to see how readers spend money, a great article with infographics plus something to use to attract advertisers. But don’t just ask kids what they think. Get the facts from mechanics, colleges and what they tell students for computers, etc. Best friend: “What are you wearing to Prom?” That could be an article on the cost of Prom dresses compared to last year, the possibility of vintage dresses or a nearby resale shop that specializes in formal wear or a non-profit that runs a special “low cost” Prom dress sale. Worried about: college costs (Are they really higher? What did the change in college loans REALLY mean? What are the advantages of going to a community college for two years? Then what does it take to transfer?); car insurance (Is there a way to avoid paying SUPER high rates, especially if you are a teen male? How can you cut costs based on the type of car you drive? What companies give breaks to those with high grades?)
- Tanning. Flu Student rights,