Make Stories Relevant to Readers

Connect with readers

• Identify your readers.
  As you report and write, consider the different kinds of readers who might be interested in this story:
  • What kind of person is likely to be intensely interested in the topic?
  • Consider who counts on your newspaper for this kind of story.
  • What information do you need to provide to meet this person's needs?
  • What kind of person has a passing interest in the story?
  • What sort of information is likely to catch and hold this person's interest?
  • Who is the long-shot reader who doesn't usually read this kind of story?
  • Do you have some information that can draw this reader in?
  • Can you broaden the interest to attract this reader?
  • Be aware of the trade-offs you make in appealing to these various readers. If you play up some information to broaden the appeal to the long-shot reader, does that force you to downplay information that the high-interest reader will view as more important? If you answer all the questions of the highly interested reader, will the reader with casual interest become bored? These trade-offs don't have easy right or wrong answers or any formula that fits every story. But you must consider your various potential readers and try to serve each the best you can.
• Write to readers.
  Consider whether second-person is appropriate for part of your story, even the lede. Or would first person plural work, drawing the reader into an "us," "we" or "our" statement? Consider other ways to engage the reader in your presentation of the story. Write conversationally. Engage the reader with a fun, inviting or enticing tone.
• Make your story useful.
  If your story moves a reader to action, do you provide information that will help the reader act? Tell where to buy or contribute, when an event will occur, how to get there, etc. Sometimes this information should go in a use-it box or a map or other accompanying graphic element.
• Explain in reader-sized terms.
  Don't just say that an agency is raising taxes by so many millions of dollars a year. Say the agency is raising taxes by $50 a year on a home assessed at $100,000. Don't say that the federal debt is $6.5 trillion. Say the federal debt is $22,207 for every person in the United States. Find similar ways to help the reader picture distance, physical size, population, etc. If a policy would affect 25,000 Texans, you might add that that's roughly the population of Greenville.
• Explain impact.
  Starting with your lede, explain how an action will affect people, not just what an agency did or is planning to do. The city didn't approve a new contract for garbage pickup. The city agreed to let the garbage contractor switch the days it will serve residents in parts of the city. Michael Roberts of the Arizona Republic explains: "If a new
  policy, law or ruling will affect people, spend most of the story on that impact. This means talking more with people who will be affected rather than the 'newsmakers.'"
• Understand timing and other media.
  Decide whether you will be the first to tell your reader the news of the story. If the reader is likely to hear the news on the radio or television first, your story needs to go beyond the news, probably even in the lede. Again, impact often is an effective way to do this. Or you might take a storytelling approach.
• Find "real people."
  You will need to talk to officials, spokespeople, bureaucrats, scholars and other experts to tell your stories. Don't neglect the most important experts: the voters, consumers, students, parents, victims, commuters, taxpayers, residents, workers, patients, travelers and other people who pay the bills, make the demands, use the services and feel the effects. Talk to them. Include their views and experiences in your stories. Use them in the lede whenever it's appropriate. Use them as the glue for your stories. Use them to confirm or contradict the experts or to place the information from the experts in context.
• Put examples in context.
  However "real" a person may be, no one's experience is universal. Explain whether the people in your story are typical or extreme? Are they an exception? An ideal? Beware of letting a person speak for a whole segment of a population. A black person or woman or poor person or teen-ager or crime victim or shopper might illustrate a trend or issue. But that person speaks for himself or herself, not for an entire race, gender, generation or class of people.
• Find diverse examples.
  Beware of always using white men as your "real people." Avoid using women or minorities or young people, or any group of people, as examples only in stories where gender, race, age, or whatever, is an issue. Especially avoid using them only in stories that fit stereotypes. Sometimes you can't help using them in the stories that fit stereotypes. Minorities will show up disproportionately as suspects and victims in crime stories. Young people will show up disproportionately in entertainment stories. Make sure that stories about routine activities such as shopping, vacations and day care reflect the diversity of the community. The people who appear in our stories and pictures should reflect the diversity of our community, both in the issues we cover and in the stories about everyday life. Sometimes this requires extra effort and awareness on the reporter's part.
• Dig for numbers.
  Find the local or regional numbers that will let you show the impact here of national trends or show the broad sweep of the issue your "real people" are facing. An organization's Web site may have figures by state or community. Check the Census Web site (http://www.census.gov/) or state sites that present helpful data. Or the Statistical Abstract of the United States. If you don't have many source books in your newsroom, explore what's available in your local library and on the Internet.
• Remember Iowa.
  Heighten the relevance of your stories to our Iowa readers by including Iowa figures, Iowa reaction and Iowa impact where appropriate.

Story elements

Story elements help you engage the reader. The reader moves on more easily from a news article that is a mere collection of facts. If your story can be cut easily from the end, the reader can just as easily quit reading at any point. A story has an ending and entices the reader to keep reading to the end.

• Establish and develop characters.
  Go beyond the "who." Develop your characters with detail, background, relationships and motivation. Help the reader see, hear and care about the characters in your story.
• Put the reader there.
  If the setting to your story is important, note the important details, to help the reader feel as if she is there, witnessing the action.
• Unfold the plot.
  Tie events together into a compelling plot, building to a climax, so the reader wants to know what happens next. Even if the story doesn't have an involved plot, watch for key scenes, where you can develop a mini-plot.
• Identify the conflict.
  Does your story have a central conflict? Establish it clearly early in the story, so the reader will care about the resolution. If the story is about the failure to resolve or the continuing pursuit of a resolution, you need to convey the conflict powerfully so that the reader shares the frustration of the characters and wants to watch for future stories that may provide the resolution.
• Establish important themes.
  If you're writing an issue story where theme is the most important element, make sure you choose a theme that matters to the reader and establish it clearly so the reader wants to examine the theme with you. In narrative writing, Roberts says, "find and bring to the surface that universal theme, that feeling or situation that resonates with readers."
• Let the reader listen.
  Use dialogue to involve the reader in your story, as a witness or eavesdropper.
• Use the senses.
  Appeal to your reader's senses, helping him hear the clamor, smell the hickory smoke, taste the barbecue.

Bring the world home

Make distant events relevant to your readers by finding connections to your region or community:

• Universities.
  Ask whether area universities send students or faculty abroad to the affected area. Or are students from the country studying in your community. Has the university heard from family members who may be in danger? Are they worried about getting back or changing plans?
• Business.
  Check with the Chamber of Commerce or state department of economic development to see if they know of area businesses with operations abroad. Are their employees or facilities in danger? Does the situation present economic opportunities or create hardships or force changes in plans?
• Relief agencies.
  Is the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or any local religious relief agency sending workers to help in disaster relief in other parts of the country or the world? Are they collecting money, medicine, food, school supplies, or something else to help? Are regional fire fighters going to help with a search and rescue?
• Immigrants and refugees.
  Does your community have refugees or immigrants from the affected area? National associations or interest groups might put you in contact with immigrants in your community from a particular country. Check phone books and clips to see if a nation in the news has refugee or ethnic agencies or associations in the community.
• Military.
  Are National Guard units or Offutt units likely to be involved in action overseas? Have some recently returned from action in the area that's now in the news?
• Politicians.
  Governors and state officials travel occasionally on trade missions. Check with the governor's office to see whether he has visited or might be planning a visit to a hot spot. Senators and representatives travel on congressional business. Sen. Chuck Hagel and Rep. Doug Bereuter serve on the foreign relations committees and may have helpful knowledge of an international situation or regional ties.
• Missionaries.
  Large local churches, religious orders or denominational offices might be able to tell you whether missionaries from the area are stationed in a country, or whether local mission groups have visited or may be planning a visit. Perhaps a missionary from the region is home on a furlough.
• Travel agencies.
• Travel agents may be able to provide contact information for tour groups abroad in the region now or changing plans or someone who recently returned.
• Check clips.
  Don't forget to check your own library's clips. They may help you identify local connections.
• Check the Internet.
• Some Internet searches might help you identify local connections