Find the Best News Stories

Find the Best News StoriesFind the Best News StoriesNews reporters are often judged on the quality of their nachrichten ideas. These 10 ways to find berichterstattung ideas will help you break stories and win the respect of your newsroom managers. Talk to People This may seem obvious, but many reporters spend their time talking to each other or listening to the usual government officials or public relations representatives that they miss talking to real people. Find people at a ball game, charity walk or grocery store and discover the news ideas that are important to them. The stories they want to be covered will likely go beyond the usual press conferences and other easy assignments you usually get. Research Social Media As a journalist, your social media strategy should involve more than just posting photos on Facebook or tweeting about a car wreck. You have unique tools to uncover what people are talking about with each other. Seek out the people who represent the audience of your media company and scan their posts or become involved in a conversation. Because more local news can save a TV station or newspaper, this is where youll find local stories about schools, churches, and talk-about issues. Look Backward and Forward Pull out a calendar to see what was making news one year ago, five years ago or a decade ago. Important anniversaries can make for compelling stories if your community had suffered through a devastating hurricane, hostage drama or city hall controversy. Maybe a huge construction project was launched to much fanfare exactly a year ago. Check on the progress. You can also look forward to telling your audience members that theyre just a year away from the opening of a new shopping mall thats being built. Profile Newsmakers You cover the mayor, police chief, and other dignitaries every day. But there are personal stories to share beyond the routine assignments. The police chief might be an expert golfer. The mayor might have bee n an only child. Reveal the hearts and minds of the people your audience members believe they already know. Youll find there are compelling stories waiting to be told. Localize a National Story Scan the headlines to see whats making news in Washington, New York or across the country. Even if youre thousands of miles away from the action, you can localize the story to bring it closer to home. School shootings have sadly become frequent. The next time it happens, investigate what your local school system is doing to keep students safe. A deadly apartment building fire in another city might be the peg for you to check on local fire codes to see if apartment dwellers are any safer in your town. Share Stories About Schools and Young People Classrooms are filled with news ideas, from new technology thats replacing textbooks to the latest teaching methods. Attending a parent-teacher association meeting might give you a list of topics to pursue. Best of all, these types of stories w ill help you reach your target demographics. fruchtwein media companies follow the latest demographic trends, which usually means targeting young families and children the advertisers dream audience because its easier to sell products to them. Investigate Weather Stories Weather is more than just presenting the forecast. Weather stories affect everyones life and some peoples livelihood. Unusually dry or wet weather can have an economic effect on farmers. The wrong weather can spell trouble for those in the tourism industry who count on sunny, dry days to attract visitors. Unless the weather is absolutely average, theres a story to tell. Reveal the Stories Behind the Sports Scores Your sports department can handle highlights and scores. But theres so much more to athletic competition and the desire to win that a news reporter can share. The use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports could lead you to a little league baseball game or high school football game t o talk with parents about whether pro athletes remain desired role models for their children. Sports injuries are a concern for every parent, especially when a child feels pressure to play hurt. Sports can build your audience when you deliver people-driven stories. Turn Economic Stories on Their Heads Economic stories have predictable winners and losers, at least according to conventional wisdom. You can challenge that thinking by showing the reverse of what most people think. Most people will report the good news that home prices are down, which is perfect for people looking to buy. You can report that its not good news for people hoping to sell, especially when their homes are worth less than what they paid for them. The bad news that dairy prices are up turns out to be good news for those in the cattle industry. Seek both sides of economic stories. Take a Drive Sometimes, your own eyes will lead you to great news ideas. Get in your car to cruise the streets in search of s tories. You may find abandoned homes being demolished, a long-standing business thats closing its doors or a dangerous intersection that needs an overhaul. These are stories that cant be found online or by working the phones. Get to know the community that you cover. Even the best reporters sometimes encounter a dry day when they cant come up with news ideas. Commit this list to memory and youll save time when trying to hunt down something to report.