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Pitching Stories
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PITCHING A STORY
The Wind Up
The Wind
Up
First and foremost when pitching a story, you have to make sure a story is in fact a story.
Seems simple right? But from the perspective of a news organization an event, a topic, or a planned trip is not enough.
The Pitch
Good pitches include basic narrative elements: a specific focus, a central question, stakes, a conflict and/or a central character.
Ideally, something happens in the story.
The Pitch
EVENT
Event
There is a football game this weekend. Is that a story?
Using what we know so far, what kind of stories could we pitch from the football game?
TOPIC
TOPIC
Topic
Pitch
Why might a topic not be enough for a pitch?
What are some topics that are important to you?
Do you think the community you are covering cares about the same things?
- Rural heath care access, cost of medicine, Medicaid expansion.
- Green-card restrictions, foreign students enrolling in college, overstaying visas.
- ????????????
- Health Care
- Immigration
- COVID-19
PLANNED TRIP
Planned Trip
"I'm going to Tampa this weekend to see some friends. Anything you want me to cover?" -Student (possibly you)
This is not a good pitch for many reasons.
Stories are not matters of convenience or because a reporter is there, they are important on their own merits.
A Good
Good pitches illustrate that the reporter has already made some calls, gathered information and/or identified the main players in a story.
A Good Start
Tips
TIPS
No good pitch has ever started off with, "I’d like to find out if …”
A pitch should be able to answer these questions:
- Why is this story important?
-Why now?
-How could I best pursue this story in the time that I have?
Your Pitch Doesn't Exist In A Vacuum
VACUUM?
Do your research! A good pitch knows that it fits into a crowded stream of coverage.
- Have other outlets covered this story or similar ones?
- What is different about your story?
- Has the outlet you’re pitching to already covered this?
Tips
Tips
Consume the news!!! You will hear me say this a lot in this class and it will never fail to be good advice.
Most importantly consume news from WUFT.
Before you pitch for your shift:
- Check the Slack channel
- Google your story idea
- Research other news
outlets coverage
Your Audience
Why would a listener or reader care about this story?
In other words why would someone in Bradford County care about something going on in Gainesville?
When writing a pitch, try to put yourself in the mindset of someone without a vested interest. What would be their entryway into your story?
TIPS
Tips
Don’t assume about your audience; whenever analytics about the audience are available, use them.
Consider your perspective: Nothing kills a pitch like a tone-deaf, biased or anthropological representation of a person, group or situation.
Practice
PRACTICE
Which of the below are good pitches?
- There is a faculty union but there isn't one for staff. Has COVID forced them to consider starting one?
- It's World Coconut Day on Thursday.
- Several small towns in the area are considering combining water utilities.
- The Alachua County animal shelter is waiving adoption fees.