Chapter 14 - Pitching the Story

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to pitch your story proposal to an editor. You will see how important it is to focus your proposal around criteria an editor will consider when deciding whether to okay an investigative project. Specifically, you will understand the importance of relevance, methodology and execution to your story proposal. You will acquire the skills to draft a preliminary outline for your story, to create a visual diagram of your methodology and to storyboard it. Finally, you will receive advice on how to get the time and resources you will need to carry out your project and start earning your credibility.

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Exercises

Try out pitching a story

Following are some ideas for investigative projects. Take one or more and develop a plan to pitch the story to an editor. Try to make it focused and sketch out a rough outline using the storyboard diagram shown in Exhibit 14.2. Come up with a list of reasons why your readers would care. Try to think of a news angle. Sketch out a game plan that lays out how much time and resources you will need and that anticipates all the problems you might encounter.

  1. Is the training people go through before they can become local police officers adequate?
  2. Based on the quality and cost of education at two-year colleges versus the first two years at nearby universities, which is a better deal?
  3. Heaps of junk: How much could your college or university save if it simply replaced the oldest appliances and machinery on campus with new, energyefficient ones?

Big Story Steps

Writing the third draft, creating a timeline and watching out for legal problems
  1. 14.1 Write the fourth draft of your story to make it as compelling as possible. See if you can weave into your story structure enough examples, convincing data, illustrative anecdotes and explanations and comments from experts. See if you can control tension, action and pacing.
  2. 14.2As a group or individually, write up a project memo that you would use to pitch your project to an editor.
  3. 14.3Prepare the final visual and multimedia elements of your story. Try to add one more by choosing one of the following:
    1. Put together a slide show.
    2. Do a man-on-the-street story with accompanying photos, asking people to comment on the findings from your story.
    3. Put together a comparison table of two contrasting elements in your story.
    4. Prepare an audio summary as a podcast.