1. Unit 5: Building the Story
5-2 “Finding Newsworthy Story Ideas”

2. What Makes something “Newsworthy?”
5 Part Criteria
Timeliness-
important b/c just happened
Proximity-
important b/c happened near you
Conflict & Controversy-
important b/c it divides
Human Interest-
important b/c reminds people of the good (warm-fuzzy)
Relevance-
important b/c it’s cool or popular

3. What Makes something “Newsworthy?”
Think / Pair / Share
Watch the News Segment
How does the segment meet the criteria?
Timeliness
Proximity
Conflict / Controversy
Human Interest
Relevance
Discuss
Is anything in your life newsworthy?
Is there anything newsworthy in the stories you hear among your family, friends and in your community?
Examples???

4. Story Ideas?!? Use the following link Examine possible story ideas
06/13/182-questions-to-write-or-talk- about/
Examine possible story ideas
Create a list of topics
Ideas that interest you,
ones you think may be cool,
or ones that you think your peers will think is cool
Edit them to fit you, your school, or community
Rank them in order of preference
Compare with your partner
Choose your topic that you both believe in
Work together to complete the Pitch Sheet
Be Prepared to “Pitch” your idea to your editor for approval.