Upcoming Due Dates
Pitches for your second and final story of the semester will be due Tuesday, Nov. 1. This story will be a little longer than the first one; there’s scope for it to be more of a feature piece. 1200 words.
The rough draft of your first story of the semester will be due on Thursday, October 13. We will workshop them in class.
The final draft will be due Thursday, Oct. 20.
Story Guidelines
If you choose to do a print story, it should be around 800 words and there should be at least one photo. You don’t have to check out a DSLR camera for this (though you’re welcome to); your phone is perfectly fine. You just need some sort of visual to run with it. It can be a photo obtained by a source if necessary, as long as you credit them.
You may also choose to do a video. It should be a two- to three-minute video; whether narrated or non-narrated is up to you. You may also opt for a text “narration.” If you prefer to do something a little more broadcast (with a standup, for instance) and a little less web video, that’s fine.
If you choose to do a photography project, there should be 12-20 photos. This can be in slideshow form with strong, informative captions, or you can lay them out in a blog post where the photos are interspersed with text as you scroll down. Captions should be written in complete sentences, 1-4 sentences per image.
If you choose to do a radio story, it should be a three-to four-minute narrated package with sound bites from at least two separate interviews and one natural sound (plus ambi). Give yourself a sign-off: “For Baruch College, this is ____ _____ in ______.” Your scripted host intro can serve as your intro paragraph for the blog, and you should also include at least one photo.
Your beat memos are due on Tuesday, Sept. 13 by class time.
Pitches for your first story of the semester will be due Thursday, Sept. 15 by class time.
Pitch Guidelines
You will send this pitch to me, but you will write it with a specific publication in mind. Find an editor contact at that publication and address it to them. Many outlets will list a public email address for pitches, but it’s usually better to identify the specific editor who handles the desk responsible for your beat/region and send it to them directly. It can help to name-drop mutual friends/contacts, especially if that’s how you got their contact info.
You can choose whichever medium you prefer for the story; make sure you address this in your pitch.
A good pitch accomplishes several things:
- It tells the editor why the story is newsworthy and identifies your angle.
- It shows that you have done your due diligence and recognize that this story is a good fit for their publication.
- It tells them who you are and why you are the right person to deliver this story. Link to your website if you have one. (And if you don’t have one yet, you should consider creating one if you plan to work in journalism.)
- It is medium-specific. If you plan to do video, describe the treatment you have in mind. If it’s a radio piece, describe the scenes and the tape you have or anticipate getting, and write it in more of an ear-friendly style.