Page 30 - 2016 September Voices!
P. 30
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Making Your Story Newsworthy
by Phyllis Harmon, DTM—District 7 Public Relations Manager
What makes a story printed. Over the years, they’ve developed
newsworthy? Perhaps a a set of criteria by which all news stories are
better way to ask is “what would make a reader measured. Why? Because newspapers are a
actually read what you write?” Sure, some people for-profit commodity. They rely on subscriptions
might be interested to know that your club meets and advertising to stay in the black. If readers
every week, at XYZ location—but that doesn’t aren’t interested in what’s contained in their
make it newsworthy, or better said, worthy of newspapers, subscriptions drop, advertising
taking up valuable real estate in the news section dollars dry up, and stockholders and company
of the local newspaper. I know, newspapers are owners lose money on their investments. (Loss
becoming as archaic as buggy whips—but that of revenue equals loss of editor wages.)
doesn’t change the point I’m trying to make.
Before I talk about what makes a story But I digress. To make your story newsworthy,
newsworthy, let’s talk a little journalistic history. it must meet two of the following critiera:
Many years ago, in the pre-dawn of the internet,
people read newspapers. . .every day. (I know Is it timely?
what you’re thinking—save the trees, cut down Is your story new or current? Unless you are
on waste, whaa, whaa, whaa). Some people read
more than one a day. There were dailys that writing a human interest story about one of
reported breaking news, weeklies that reported your members, breaking news is just that. Did
on community happenings and grocery sales, Toastmaster Leonard just win the lottery and
and business newspapers focused on the vagaries buy the building your club meets in? He says that
of the stock market (some were dailies and others your club never have to worry about meeting
weeklies). Then there were the Sunday editions, space again. In fact, he is donating space to all
full of opinion pieces, comic strips, colored ads clubs in the area. That’s newsworthy!
paid for by the large department stores, sports
pages, want ads, etc. They were twice the pages For your story to meet the Timeliness
of the dailys, making them extra special, and measure, you must act on your news right away.
worthy of the 50 cents they cost. (I’m dating The longer between the actual event and your
myself, aren’t I?). reporting of it, the more white whiskers your
Editors, then and now, decided what was story grows. When it has a full, Santa-type beard,
it’s too old and stale.
Proximity (is the news close to home?)
If, in our example, Toastmaster Leonard
30 Volume 3 Issue 3 - SEPTEMBER 2016
