Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 54 Journalism: Publishing Across Media Pitching Your Story Ideas The editors, who will have taken notes during the story idea discussions, choose which stories to develop based on the news values of proximity, timeliness, impact, prominence, oddity, confl ict and human interest. They may then assign stories to the writers they believe will do the best job covering each particular story. Sometimes, but not always, the writer chosen to cover the story will be the person who originally suggested the idea for that story. An enterprising journalist may not be content with just the stories he is assigned. In addition to the assigned story, he may want to work on an idea he has for a different story. After a little background work to be sure of the news values, he will need to pitch (describe in a persuasive way) his story to an editor. If the editor likes the idea, she may give him the time, the resources—such as cameras and microphones—and the support to pursue the story. In addition, she may meet with him periodically to help him focus his story. If the story is strong, she will give him time in the broadcast or space in the edition (Figure 2.13). So how do you pitch a story so that your editor will accept it? You begin with preparation. 1. Read your source article thoroughly if you are pitching a story from the professional media. Do not go to your editor and say, “Hey, I found this neat article about Lap-Band surgery being approved for kids as young as 14. I want to write about it!” Rather, show your understanding of the article for instance, “The LA Times wrote an article about Lap-Band surgery being considered for marketing to teens as young as 14, but many people think this is not a good idea.” Figure 2.13 Pitch your story idea to your editors if you think the story will be interesting, relevant, and newsworthy for your publication.