Over 10 years ago, Motunrayo Alaka, developed a story pitch template for journalists to access support for stories from the WSCIJ. This template has become a go-to for many journalists and news media organisations from Nigeria and other countries as a story plan and pitch. Here are the highlights of the template.
For a journalist who wants to write that next impactful story, there are tested and trusted style guide to the art and science of story planning that can also make a great pitch. These steps involve audience mapping, sources, getting data, how to ask questions and writing outlines for stories.
Story ideas: It can be sparked by personal experiences, news headlines, historical events, observations from society, prompts from colleagues, government policy and promise follow up and more.
One line on story idea: It is a single sentence summary of the story in a concise description that sums up the plot, themes, and possibly the central conflict or characters.
Location: The geographical setting or settings of the event where the news story occurred. It helps the reporter in plan costs and risks exposure.
Synopsis: A condensed overview of the key points to give the audience a quick insight into the story.
Treatment plan: This is how a journalist intends to write the report. It could be in a news, investigative report, feature, special reports or other formats.
Scope: This refers to how wide the theme or subject matter of the story is explored. This can depend on the audience, the purpose of the story and available resources.
Source mapping: Organisation and analysis of relevant sources to a particular topic or story. Sources can be humans, documents, interviews, data sets or other materials related to the story.
