What’s a Good Idea?

A good idea is:

• Targeted to your particular publication. It must be something your reader wants.

• Must have a news angle.

For ideas, ask yourself

• What does my reader want? Why do my readers, viewers, listeners CARE about this topic? What’s in it for them?

• Why this idea at this time?

Rule Number One for Ideas

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE and WHAT IT WANTS!

WE ARE THE SPIRIT OF BLACK WOMEN

ESSENCE inspires Black women of all shades and shapes to lead bold, fulfilling lives. We encourage their

passions and dreams and celebrate their community. As a trusted

friend, we reflect their best selves and motivate them to live without

limits.

The SI franchise is anchored by Sports Illustrated, the most respected voice in sports journalism which reaches a weekly

audience of nearly 21 million adults, and SI.com, the magazine's 24/7 sports news website that delivers more

than 150 original stories to its users each week.

Our mission is to produce fair-minded, enterprising, well-crafted journalism that helps readers to understand their world. From markets and business to the political, economic and cultural forces that shape our age, we tell readers much more than what happened yesterday – we tell them what it means and what’s likely to come next.

The more you know about your reader—the better to pitch article ideas!

What’s the audience? Who is the reader?What do these readers want?

The ReaderCity College students are young (mostly), diverse, smart, savvy,

ambitious and hard-working. Most are commuters, strapped for time and cash. They want to know what’s going on on campus, in

the community of Harlem, in the CUNY system and sometimes in the world, and most importantly, how it effects them and their

education. They are interested in the most efficient, cost-effective ways to do well in school, have good relationships, feel good, and

have fun—and be successful after graduation.

The MissionTo provide the most up-to-date news, information and service to City College students about their campus and community. It is bi-weekly now, but

we hope to move to weekly—complemented by a newsy daily website driven by listings and activities. Our goal is to be a smart, cutting-edge, relevant attractive, entertaining publication—both online and in print. We vow to always know what our reader wants, desires, expects and enjoys.

Rule Two Rule for Ideas: News value

Choose ideas that are timely, news, topical. Ask yourself—why this topic at this time?

So what’s a good idea?

News + Audience =

A newsy topic that your audience cares about

What stories does our audience want from us?...

Hurricane Sandy Batters the East Coast

This is the news. What’s our story?

MTA Reports Fare Hike May Be on the Way

For the Young, Unemployment Reaches All-time High

A new report shows stress at all-time high

New Report: Growing numbers of Hispanic students in college

How to add a news angle to your stories. Tie it to:

• The season• Something that happened very recently--news• An anniversary• A trend

Seasonal stories/related to time period

Spring runway report10 tips for graduates

How to cook the perfect Easter dinner

Get in shape for summer

It’s allergy season: How to stay healthy!

How to make an idea that’s interesting to your audience timely: Come up with a creative news angle!

• Unpaid internships seem unfair; I’d like to cover the controversy.

• I’ve noticed lots of male students have kids. I’d like to write about CCNY students who are fathers.

• It seems like in most of my classes there are many more women than men.

How to find ideas:

• Read the news—local, national, international. Think of how a current news story might be “spun” for our audience.

• Look at ccny.cuny.edu and cuny.edu websites for news ideas.

• Keep your ear to the ground. Listen to what other students and professors are talking about.

• Think about how something’s changed. Best to prove it with stats.

• Consider what’s important to students RIGHT NOW.

Assignment due Tuesday 5/6/2014

Come up with 3 article ideas for THE CAMPUS Newsmagazine .

You must explain why each of them: 1. Is of interest to OUR readership of City

College students.2. Is new/has news value. How is it tied to a

larger news story or a trend or season? 3. Each of your story ideas must be AT LEAST 2

or 3 sentences long; not longer than a paragraph.

4. Typed, double-spaced on paper.