by James Zipadelli

Created on: May 02, 2009

Determining whether a story is newsworthy depends on several factors.

First, who is your audience? Why would they want to read this story? A daily newspaper, for example, caters to a national audience. Stories need to be put in terms that the general public could understand. A Web site has a certain demographic they want to reach. A niche publication could focus on a specific topic, such as cars or consumer products. A television station can take a local angle to a story.

One time, as an editorial intern for a Boston newspaper, my editor wanted to do a section on pets and pet owners, so I focused on dogs. I spent the next week writing about the topic, thinking that, of all the stories I could be writing about, I had to write about this one. The response from the community was impressive. They were so excited that their dogs had made it into the paper.

Another factor to determine whether a story is newsworthy or not depends on the space and resources available. Print publications are struggling in this economy. The more staffers get let go, the harder it is to cover a story or devote the resources to it. Stories that would have been covered aren't; stories that would have been covered more robustly are thinned out. However, several news organizations can pool together their resources to cover a big story, such as the Fox affiliate where I live, Fox 61, and the Hartford Courant, Connecticut's oldest-running newspaper.

A third factor to determine whether a story is newsworthy depends on proximity and timeliness. Stories that are compelling and can affect the community have a better chance of being covered than an issue affecting the next city or town. The recent outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus is a good example: Schools that are already struggling in the wake of this economic recession have to close to make sure students aren't sickened. In Connecticut, it was three schools: Wethersfield, East Haddam and Waterbury.

Finally, how significant is the story? Generally, the more people that are affected, the more significant the story becomes.

The U.S. Airways jet that crash-landed in the Hudson river January 15th was a legitimate news story for several reasons. First, both engines were taken out by birds and as we found out, bird strikes are very common at airports. Second, there were 155 people on board, as opposed to a few people. Third, nobody perished so it had a positive outcome. Subsequent stories focused on the pilot, "Sully" Sullenberger, his first officer Jeff Skiles and crew for getting the passengers out safely. There was a strong human interest component to the story as well, focusing not only on Capt. Sullenberger's family, but the families of the passengers. That's what made this story successful.

The story idea that a reporter has may be newsworthy, but it's not going to be covered without the go-ahead from the superiors. My best advice to young reporters is to try and think creatively how many ways you can cover a topic. The more ideas you have, the better the story will turn out. Seek advice from editors and co-workers because - excuse the pun - it's important to be on the same page. It's not always going to be easy to find stories that fit every characteristic. The editors and reporters who are creative enough to find most of them will do their readers and viewers a great service.

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