We were discussing our stories (mine was on Clinton's welfare-to-work initiative) when one of the most experienced reporters in the room made a stunning (to me) confession. He admitted having a really hard time figuring out what constituted a good soundbite. I was shocked because I'd heard this guy regularly on NPR. If he could get on the network all the time surely he could pick a good soundbite, right?
Truth is, we all have aspects of our job that don't come as easily. And for many people it's finding story ideas. @JasonSmithRadio tweeted today, "Coming up with good story ideas has always been tough for me. The hotel art thing blew...my...mind."
I challenged you to find a story idea from something seemingly mundane. Regan McCarthy hit it out of the park with her idea (and video) that will bring a smile to the face of anyone who's ever sat through a long, boring government meeting.
Here are a couple more ideas that came in:
From KNPR's Luis Hernandez
Story Summary: I remember hearing regular service announcements as a kid on the importance of brushing my teeth. Now I see tons of spots on selling the sexiness of white teeth and teeth brightners. Have we forgone healthy teeth for sexy teeth? Is that damaging to our health?
From WPSU's Emily Reddy
Story Summary: This is the appraisal for the house I'm buying. In the process of buying a house I've learned that since the housing collapse there are new regulations in place when it comes to appraisals. They must be done by appraisers out if the area who are chosen by lottery. The mortgage broker cannot have any interaction with the appraisers. The reasoning is that before, lenders and appraisers were in cahoots to "make" the house appraise to the amount needed for the mortgage. So the new set up sounds good, right? But there are down sides. The new situation means that appraisers don't necessarily know the areas they're appraising in very well. Appraisals are coming in low and causing sales to fall through. (I think I heard a statistic recent that backs this up.) This could be a hard one to keep interesting. You'd have to find someone whose sale feel through because of their appraisal.
So, what do you think? Do these story ideas have legs? Would you like to hear any of them on the radio?
I am loving these posts. Having worked as an assignment editor, reporter, anchor and news director in television news, I can relate. It's a struggle to figure out what to air between natural disasters and political scandals. When I was in DC i would think about it on the Metro & have a dozen ideas by the time I got to work. It's not a fair comparison though. You could throw a dart blindfolded in Washington and hit any number of features, scoops or scandals. Based on this exercise, it seems that everyone (and every thing) has a story to tell if you'll just listen (or look). Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Scott! It's true... some places are just filled with stories. I've told many an out-of-state hire that I promise if you move to Alabama you will never be without stories to tell. If only I could hire a team of reporters to cover just local and state government. Oh the things we could turn up!
ReplyDeleteWould love your ideas on "Webify"ing radio or TV stories (see blog post from today 4/2).