NewsBeat

March 2018 NewsBeat 7 • Today's newspapers lack sense of passion. Too many articles are cliché- loaded and nothing more than coldly reported facts. Good reporting, they'll tell you, includes solid research, great insight and heartfelt story-telling. • There are two types of stories: hard news and features. Today's editors don't understand the difference between a hard news story and a feature story. A great paper needs both. The first might be the report on the latest city council meeting. The second is a story about a kid in a wheelchair playing pee-wee basketball. • Many youthful and even older readers think newspapers have become boring and set in their ways. Readers want tidbits and insights they can use to start a conversation at the water cooler. That's why the police report is always well read in any paper. The trick is to find those stories that encourage conversation but are often missed by even the most experienced reporter. My son Jay P. Wagner, one-time editor of our N'West Iowa REVIEW and later a reporter for two daily newspapers, often shared these story finding ideas with rookie reporters: 1 Read your newspaper's classified ads. You'll be surprised by what you'll find that will lead to a great story. 2 Pay special attention to what is discussed before and after the council, school board or county supervisor meeting. Some of the best story ideas pop up outside of the official discussion. 3 Take time to check out the local school newspaper, church bulletin, business mailings and emails and club and organization newsletters you come across. You'll be rewarded with both news stories worth reporting and some unique personality features. 4 Join the local business leaders who meet for coffee weekday mornings. Say little and keep your ears open. You'll hear about what is really going on in the community. 5 Drive to work along a different route every morning. It is the best way to stay on top of new construction, destruction, development and unrest. 6 Make sure you are always accessible. Provide after-hour contact information to all key sources such as the fire department and local and county law enforcement agencies. SECRETS OF DESIGN Readers have a short attention span. Even the best writing has to be presented in an interesting way with multiple points of entry. These include large, interesting photos with cut lines that include unique additional information, well honed headlines and subheads, quote boxes, stat boxes, sidebars and graphics. Remember, there are many ways to share a story. We live in a hectic, busy world with limited time for all the learning and entertainment activities available to us. Not every story has to be long to be good. Shorter can often be better. Use illustrations, graphics, photos and other design elements to share additional details. But most of all, get out of the office and experience life in your city. Chuck Palahniuk, author and freelance journalist offers this suggestion: "Have your adventures, make your mistakes and choose your friends poorly all these make for great stories." We all depend on each other to improve the future of newspapers. Every great newspaper with lively, comprehensive local content lifts the entire industry. Only the local newspaper can create a real sense of community and consensus. The local newspaper is the only broadcaster in town. Radio stations have become narrowcasters with limited impact on only the audience their musical format attracts. Television has become fractured with over 100 channels splitting the audience into small demographic groups. Newspapers have to remain true to their calling. Only the hometown newspaper continues to reach the broad market with quality content that the subscriber wants and needs. — Peter W. Wagner is founder and publisher of The N'West Iowa REVIEW which has been selected NNA's General Excellence winner 17 times in its circulation class. The material in this article was taken, in part, from his "Mind Your p's and q's" publishing seminar currently being presented at various newspaper association conventions and group meetings. Peter can be reached at pww@iowainformation.com or 712-348-3550.

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