- Check
your hometown newspaper's Web site. Local stories in another
community often are "transferrable" to Lawrence.
- Check the newspapers or
other media for future possibilities
Stories in today's paper may contain
references to some future event or possibility that will make a good story
later. File it away and bring it up at the appropriate time. We usually don't
want to copy what's in the morning paper, but there's nothing wrong with using
it as a source of ideas for future original reporting. Checking the
papers should be a daily routine -- not just a lab day activity.
- Check
the "Story Ideas" and "Stories to Follow" folders in
the futures file (under “Assignments” in the NewsRoom4 item store).
- Be
observant. Watch and listen for things that are curious or unusual.
Check them out as possible sources.
- Develop
your own "beat check" list
- Periodically
check with people you know in organizations, government, business. They
may know of events, trends, issues that are good story possibilities.
- Watch
the wire and other national media for stories you can localize
- Think
about the big picture. Individual events may be the "tip of the
iceberg" for a trend or issue story.
- When
you cover stories, make note of future possibilities
- Your
stories often contain the seeds of future stories. Be alert for future
events or possibilities that may generate another story. Don't be selfish.
If you can't do the follow-up yourself, put a note in the futures file so
someone else can do it.
- Check
the Web. There are so many possible sources here, who knows where to
start. Well, start with the Web sites you use anyway. Then think of others
that would be likely to produce useable story ideas, especially local
government, business, schools, organizations, etc.