Story Ideas Assignment

Story ideas are generated through observation and investigation. Your assignment is to put together a list of eight story ideas, using these methods: 

Using official sources: check the college website, including the press releases page, to get ideas for events that we might cover for the student newspaper. Look at posters on the kiosks and bulletin boards around campus for upcoming events.  

Observations: what are people at the college talking about, reading, listening to, wearing and doing? What changes do you see over time in what students are doing and interested in, including music, fashion, culture and so on? Think of it this way: if a Martian suddenly landed his spaceship in the quad and asked you to describe Bucks students and their interests, what would you tell him? 

Follow-up stories: look at several recent issues of the Centurion to see if there are stories we've already done that should be followed up on. This can apply to all areas of the paper but start with news. What important new stories have we covered recently that we could develop further by examining possible new angles, checking with sources to see if there have been new developments, and so on. 

Finding local angles: what events are occurring beyond the campus, whether in Bucks County, the state or even the country that could affect college students? For instance, is Congress considering any new legislation regarding student loans? How will the state budget affect funding for community colleges including Bucks? This will require keeping up on the news, which is what you should be doing anyway, but now you will be following current events with a particular mission in mind - to find stories that can be localized for our readership. 

Your assignment is to come up with eight story ideas, including at least one from each of the categories listed above. For each idea, describe how you discovered and developed it. Remember, these should be solid, workable ideas that we can use for the student newspaper, using sources that would be accessible to our student reporters. With each story idea, list several possible sources that reporters might contact for interviews.