Story Ideas

• When brainstorming ideas for a Manual AM story, here are some questions you should ask yourself:
  • Is it newsworthy? In other words, am I reporting on something that (1) people don’t know about and (2) people SHOULD know about? Is this a case of “need to know” or “want to know”?
  • Is it timely? In other words, am I reporting on something that is a current issue or very recent event? Or: When my story is finally completed, will it still be current?
  • Is it fresh? In other words, are you rehashing a story that has been done before, or are you taking a new and interesting angle on an old subject? Or, better yet, have you found an entirely new subject?
• If you are covering a subject that has been covered before (look at the Manual AM stories on Vimeo if you need examples), then you must come up with a new angle for the story. For example, Manual AM has aired several stories about the Dreamers step team in the past. If you want to do another story about the step team, what new information are you going to give our audience?
• Surveying students about their opinions is NOT REPORTING. Executive producers should veto all stories that fall into this category. You may survey students as part of a larger story about a particular issue, but the survey results by themselves are NOT newsworthy. In the same way, interviewing a bunch of people to obtain their opinion about an issue is not the same as covering that issue. Remember the Eighth Commandment!
• Always check with executive producers before pursuing a story.