What makes a good story?
Here at DARCOMM, one of the ways we love to feature the amazing alumni of the University of Georgia and awesome happenings at UGA is by writing articles and sharing them with the world! In-house, we call them blogs, and if you have an idea for a blog, donor profile, etc., we would LOVE to know about it. We also want to give you a small insight into our world of marketing and mass communications.
Welcome to the DARCOMM edition of Journalism 1001! Class is in session, and today we are covering (pun intended) what makes a story, article, blog — or whatever word for longish-form storytelling you prefer — pique the interest of other university and non-university media channels (including but not limited to MARCOMM) and most importantly, the wider UGA audience.
Let’s start by defining newsworthiness. When communicators are sleuthing for a scoop to share with the world, they are usually looking for some combination of these aspects:
- Timeliness: recency or urgency of a topic or event
- Impact: (I think we’re pretty familiar with this one, but more simply put) scale of consequence, i.e. the size of a gift or what lead giving to the specific college or initiative
- Proximity: geographical closeness to an event or topic
- Prominence: involvement of well-known people, leaders, etc.
- Conflict: presence of an obstacle or issue to be overcome
- Human Interest: emotional or personal angles that resonate with human experience
- Novelty: unique, out-of-the-box occurrences
A story concept does not have to contain all of these aspects to be publishable, and some of these may not always be relevant to our world of development, but they are always good to keep in mind when pitching an idea for a blog!
Some of these aspects are no brainers — proximity, prominence and impact are common descriptors of many UGA alumni, but to garner interest from media channels and the audiences outside of central DAR, really consider the human interest and novelty a potential story has. Or, consider the transformation that has taken place (or will take place) because of the donor or gift in question: a challenge overcome, a lesson learned, a goal achieved or a moment that inspired someone to take action.
If an alumnus’s story can connect with others on an emotional or personal level and possibly inspire them to also make an impact here at UGA, that is what we love to see! The best stories usually answer one simple question: “Why should someone who has never met this person care?” If the answer is clear, chances are there’s a compelling story to tell.
Herein lies the rub. Sometimes peoples’ stories or reasons for giving can be spelled out simply, and while that is amazing and deserves to be amplified, long-form storytelling may not be the best avenue to amplify it. Some accomplishments are better suited for social media, email spotlights or other forms of communication.
Kent Warneke, editor emeritus of the Norfolk Daily News has a great quote shared on the Associated Press that serves as the perfect way to sum this up.
“Anything can be news. But not everything is newsworthy. Journalism is a process in which a reporter uses verification and storytelling to make a subject newsworthy. A good story, however, does more than inform or amplify. It adds value to the topic.”
As communicators, that is our overall goal when it comes to the content and materials that come out of our office. We do not share things just for the sake of doing it, but to make an impact on those who see it!
DARCOMM will gladly discuss how we can assist in any cultivation, stewardship or amplification opportunities through our office. We are here to help!
If you have ideas/possible persons of interest for a blog, please let us know!
