Generating Story Ideas

The following are some tips on generating story ideas.

By Don Gibb

• Read your own newspaper for follow-up stories in the next edition or later. Often, we only get part of the story into the paper because of time constraints or the reluctance of some people to talk. Be careful not to repeat the same information through different people. 
• Keep a daybook or diary to follow your own stories. Make regular checks for new developments and record important dates: a person's trial date, first anniversary of a tornado that ruined a neighborhood in your community... 
Subscribe to and read publications related to your beats or areas of interest. They can be great for story tips or stories a certain profession or industry is talking about internally, but not in public view. Always ask yourself if the story is relevant and of interest to general readers. 
• Read other newspapers (local and provincial). They can provide good story ideas to "localize" for your readers. 
• Read bulletin boards/signs everywhere. They can tip you off to good stories in your community. When you're killing time waiting for an interview in someone's office, read the information board. 
• Read government reports for hidden stories behind the jargon. Sometimes we cover a major announcement based on a hefty report. When time permits, go back and look for little (or big) things you may have missed in the first round. Good ideas can be developed after a council meeting. Review the agenda next day for good follow-up stories, features or items you may have overlooked in the rush to cover the main stories. 
• Talk to your contacts on a regular basis to find out what's new. Sometimes you may get just a tip to pursue later. 
• Listen--to conversations in coffee shops, or buses, in the gym, at the Y, and among neighbors. 
• Look for stories when you are doing stories. Sometimes a diversion in the conversation on one story can produce ideas for other stories. 
• Look beyond the obvious. Example: If you are covering a death in the local police cells, find out if there have been others over the years. It may not be for the next edition, but it will be a natural story to develop in some depth. 
• Think of putting some stories in perspective for readers. Example: if your community decides to ban pinball arcades next door to school yards, check other B.C. communities which might have made the same move. That gives readers the background they need to better understand the story and put it in perspective. 
• Think of things that affect your life, that interest you. They can often be a source of good story items on the little things in life. An example of someone who makes little things so interesting is one of Canada's great storytellers, Stuart McLean of CBC's Morningside. 
• Observe. Look around you for changes in your environment. Example: An increase in the number of strip malls could produce a story on merchants returning to neighborhoods instead of buying into big shopping malls. 
• Always work with a number of ideas at the same time. That gives you a chance to compare them and decide which ones are worth pursuing.