Story pitches are how we sell our stories, and ourselves, to employers. This means that pitches need to be strong and convincing. Before pitching a story, you need to know what you want to write about and have at least done the groundwork for the story including finding and talking to sources and finding information. It is vitally important to have a clear goal and a strong angle for your story, especially if it has been covered before.
Here are some of the things that need to be considered when creating a pitch:
Publication - who do you want to publish this story? Are they the most relevant publication? Do you think that the publication has the best medium to tell your story?
Length - How long is the story going to be?
News values - Why should the public care about the story?
Sources - Are your sources appropriate for your story? Will they give you the best information? Do they have any sort of agenda that could impact upon your story? Are they happy to be credited or do they want anonymity? If they do want anonymity, is there somebody else that you can talk to who will give you the information who is fine with being credit?
And most importantly:
The actual story that you will be writing - What is it about? Who is it about? When did it happen? Where did it happen? What is the angle? Are there similar stories in existence? If so, is your story different enough to matter? Why is it important for people to read this story?
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