What's The Story?

As a reporter the most important thing you have to do when preparing to write a news report or feature is answer the question: What's the story? Every story has to have a story line and an "angle." A "group of social workers held a meeting" may not be good enough in itself to make a story. If the social workers made a newsworthy resolution or plan at the end of the meeting, that might be your story. You focus on their resolution or plan.

What's the story? has to be kept in mind as you work through the whole process of compiling a story, from thinking up the story idea in the first place to research and reporting and the writing of the report.

ONE SENTENCE This story line can usually can be summed up in one sentence. Normally this says a bit more than a headline would. For example, "how social workers used mud and brick to design an environmentally-friendly cooking stove that cuts poor people's fuel costs," or "people of various religions hailed the arrest of a social activist's killer but expressed concern that justice might not be done when that case goes to court." [ Top ]

The key is to explain it simply. Imagine you are telling an eight-year-old child about the story.

KEEP STORY LINE IN MIND Ideally you should write the story line on the front page of your notebook, tag it onto your computer or stick it on the wall. Keep it firmly in your mind as you research and report the story. This may sound obvious but it is amazing how some reporters lose track of the story line and the resulting story suffers as a result. [ Top ] EXAMPLE

ANGLE The story line may also be considered as your story "angle." When reporters and editors use the word "angle" they are not so much referring to that sentence you have put down as your story line, rather they are talking about the viewpoint from which you will report the story. Sometimes there is a subtle difference. [ Top ] EXAMPLE

ACTION The story line will always involve action. For example, a doctor running a program for slum kids, religious leaders calling for action, or social workers protesting. All these examples include verbs - running, calling, protesting. And - to say the obvious - they involve people. Over 99 percent of stories involve people in action. [ Top ]

NOT SET IN STONE Be aware, though, that the story line is not cut in stone. If in the course of your interviewing and investigation you find the story line or angle is different from what you first imagined it to be, or that there is a better way to tell the story, modify your story line accordingly. Think of the story line as a moving target. [ Top ]

TIME Time can be an important factor. The longer you research and report your story, the more likely it is that the story line will change. Why? Because the "real" story may be hidden behind a facade of normality or superficial press reports. Some of the best reporting comes from in-depth investigation where reporters do not take press reports at face value. They dig deep. (see SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH)　[ Top ]

Once you have finished reporting and are ready to write, again keep in mind the story line you have settled on. Keep it on your desk in front of you as you write the story. Staying focused on this will make it easier to discard unneeded material and will help you avoid going off in the wrong direction half way through the story.

This is particularly important when it comes to feature stories which usually have a beginning, middle and end, unlike the inverted pyramid style of news stories, which start with the most important information and then taper off. With features, following the story line will help you keep the beginning, middle and end connected, even if you make small digressions along the way.

FINAL CHECK When you have finished the story, stand back from it and make sure it's on track. Does it follow your intended story line? If it does not, maybe you made a mistake. Or maybe your story line has, in fact, changed because of what you unearthed while reporting. As we said, your story line might prove to be a moving target. Keep it in your sights! [ Top ]

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