Story Ideas for College TV Station

[kreporter]

I'm the station manager/reporter for my college television station. I'm looking for story ideas that will give experience, good enough to be shown on my resume. Seeing that we're out for summer right now, ideas for summer stories would be preferable. But if anyone has any stories to offer in general, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[News Is Broken]

Teen DUI's, drownings, heat exhaustion dangers, what happens when you hold a firecracker... just watch the news and take notes. They do the same stories every year.

[John M.]

Stories good enough for resume reels have little to do with story topic and much to do with storytelling. There is no list of story ideas good for resumes. If there were such a list, the best stories would be ones not on it. You don't want the same stories on your tape that everyone else has. Applying for a job is not a good place for herd mentality. You're trying to stand out.

As for where to get ideas... What's going on around campus or around town? What are people talking about? What are you curious to know more about? If you don't know -- or can't find -- the answers to these questions, your resume reel is the least of your concerns.

[s'news]

As for where to get ideas... What's going on around campus or around town? What are people talking about? What are you curious to know more about? If you don't know -- or can't find -- the answers to these questions, your resume reel is the least of your concerns.

Good advice from John M.

I'll just toss out, for the hell of it, are more students taking summer classes for economic reasons?

[Fake Post]

With the internet at your disposal?

You're kidding, right.

You can access just about any market tv station, localize it to your backyard and see how the more seasoned pros cover that story.

[News Is Broken]

With the internet at your disposal?

You're kidding, right.

You can access just about any market tv station, localize it to your backyard and see how the more seasoned pros cover that story.

Maybe we've been Super Sally'ed.

[east coast producer]

This thread is not going to end well.

[News Is Broken]

This thread is not going to end well.

Do any of them? Seriously.

[east coast producer]

Sure they do.

By the end of this thread (http://openline.medialine.com/showthread.php?t=24809&highlight=kidney+stone+east+coast+producer+advice) , I was cured!

This one (http://openline.medialine.com/showthread.php?t=30536&highlight=spectacular) also ended with a great big thank you for a very deserving and well-loved poster.

[News Is Broken]

Sure they do.

By the end of this thread (http://openline.medialine.com/showthread.php?t=24809&highlight=kidney+stone+east+coast+producer+advice) , I was cured!

This one (http://openline.medialine.com/showthread.php?t=30536&highlight=spectacular) also ended with a great big thank you for a very deserving and well-loved poster.

Well OK, but those weren't started by noobs in the J-Forum either. :whistle:

[Mighty Dyckerson]

Do an investigative piece. Take a hidden camera into a sorority house and hide it in the shower. Then send me the raw video and I'll critique it for you.

[Roy Hobbs]

This thread is not going to end well.

http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/ocd/images/oilwell.bmp

[east coast producer]

I totally knew you'd post some obscure, vaguely-related image!! It's not a derailed thread until Roy posts his pics!! :cheers:

[Roy Hobbs]

Oil's well that ends well.
http://www.concertsinyourhome.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/oilwell117194718_std.jpg

[The Mockingbird]

Usually when I can't find my Magid consulting box of stories, I fall on my backup plan, which is to go into town and talk to people.

[wx or not]

The OP is too...something...I call shenaningans! Bait the hooks, boys, we're gonna reel 'em in!!!

[News Is Broken]

Do an investigative piece. Take a hidden camera into a sorority house and hide it in the shower. Then send me the raw video and I'll critique it for you.

This idea is win. :cheers:

[Rosenblum]

College TV station.
You've got cameras and edits?
Jeez... go make yourself a pilot of a reality show - Inside the Dorm.
You know, the Real Animal house.
Make it rock and then take it to a broadcaster and you'll never look back.

[News Is Broken]

College TV station.
You've got cameras and edits?
Jeez... go make yourself a pilot of a reality show - Inside the Dorm.
You know, the Real Animal house.
Make it rock and then take it to a broadcaster and you'll never look back.

Yeah... because news is dead. :rolleyes:

[The Mockingbird]

Rosenblum is so ahead of his time, pitching a reality show concept. I'll bet that will really fly with the rest of the boys in 1995!

[Clever Login Name]

THIS will be the thread, where we either welcome and encourage the newbie reporter or expose them for the fraud that they are once and for all, and to everyone's satisfaction.

[The Mockingbird]

Now if only he were from Georgia.

[tater]

I heard a story idea about some crazy laws the city enacts that the population doesn't follow.

[The Mockingbird]

Do a story about how Memorial Day can KILL YOU.

That looks something they would flash on the screen in that Van Halen video "Right Now".

[adam & doctor drew]

I'm the station manager/reporter for my college television station. I'm looking for story ideas that will give experience, good enough to be shown on my resume.

in other words, please do my work for me.

[east coast producer]

Seventeen Story Ideas from University of Georgia Journalism Students (http://poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=163382) Posted by Al Tompkins (http://poynter.org/profile/profile.asp?user=1557) at 12:01 AM on May 12, 2009 A couple of times a year, my old friend David Hazinski sends me a collection of story ideas generated by his journalism students at the University of Georgia (http://www.grady.uga.edu/resources.php?page=facultyandstaff_profiles.inc.ph p%7Cfac_ID=17).

Hazinski is a former NBC News correspondent who wound up in academia but has a long reputation for demanding a lot of his students. The work of his students proves that he gets what he demands. Don't you love teachers like that?

The story ideas come complete with the names, e-mails and contact numbers for the young journalists who crafted them. (Hint: They needs jobs.) Here are all 17 ideas:

Veggies at Your Door -- There is a guy who caters vegetarian meals out of his house and delivers them by bicycle to loyal patrons, such as a tattoo parlor and local offices. He has such a big following that he's about to open a vegetarian restaurant. He makes stuff like pesto dumplings with mushroom gravy and tarts with asparagus and mushrooms. I don't even like vegetarian food, but thinking about his meals makes me hungry. CONTACT: Pria Abraham, pja88@uga.edu, (912) 667-5192.

The Stanky Leg -- This is a new hip-hop dance craze that is so fun. (Hint: If you call it the "skanky leg (http://stanky-leg.com/)," young people will laugh at you.) It started with a song from a group called the GS Boyz, a Southern hip-hop band. It's so popular that YouTube already has more 13,000 posts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNW7QdM2Kw8). There are videos there of high school teachers, professors and tons of kids doing the dance. It's one of those songs that gets everyone dancing. Some of the videos are fun to watch, while some are horrifying. Could be the new Macarena, God forbid. CONTACT: Curry Andrews, (404) 538-3464, eandrews@uga.edu.

Study Abroad Going Up -- Seems a little counter-intuitive in this kind of economy, but many schools say the number of kids studying overseas is either flat or up. Contact various schools and see what the numbers have been like. CONTACT: Eric Bowman, 770-653-2793, ebowman7@uga.edu.

Life on the Streets -- Found a man named Robert Lockhart and talked to him about how he's handling the bad economy. He lives in an old tent, bathes mostly in the river and catches fish to eat. He picks up cans for a living and said he doesn't beg or steal. He has a whole routine and knows when the best time is to collect cans, dumpster dive or hit a soup kitchen. Simple stories with all kinds of insights into "invisible people" can be done anywhere. CONTACT: Amanda Maddox, (912) 281-3028, almaddox@uga.edu.

Used Police Cars -- You may have noticed more used police cars around lately. Kids are buying them at auctions and fixing them up. One of the reasons is because the heavy-duty transmissions are able to handle the increased strain of the giant wheels kids are putting on these cars. There's apparently a whole sub-genre of car nuts seeking these out now. CONTACT: Jamie McNeely, (706) 726-6324, jmcneely@uga.edu.

Stepford College Women -- There is a reason women all seem to dress alike in Athens, Ga., and it's not because they borrow clothes from one another. Athens is close to Atlanta's runways and is apparently intravenously connected fashion-wise. Kids in Athens are generally well-off, and sociologists say having nice clothes is part of "fitting in." There are two fashion magazines and several Web sites here, such as ThePopCouture.com (http://www.thepopcouture.com/). Athens residents also view fashion as an art form. CONTACT: Kelsey Kirksey, (512) 422-6960, kelsann@uga.edu.

Recycling Bikes -- The crummy economy has people rebuilding bikes instead of buying new ones and/or giving them away. In Athens, the bikes that were rebuilt by charities used to end up in the hands of the homeless who use them to get to jobs. Homeless shelters are always looking for more bikes, and they're finding fewer now. CONTACT: Micah Green, (770) 891-2077, micah589@uga.edu.

Electronic Cheating -- Many colleges are moving toward more online and electronic instruction and testing, and the students are several steps ahead of professors already. Classes that use "clickers" routinely have lots more students responding to quizzes than there are students in the room. Some fraternities and sororities have group online testing sessions. Some students look up answers on another computer. Cell phones now have test answers in them. Some professors get it and are changing their courses. Others have no clue. Monitored testing seems to be the only way to stop cheating, and few classes are doing that. Lots of college campuses are probably dealing with this issue. CONTACT: This was a class project.

Weird Phobias -- This younger generation has some weird fears. I've heard of a girl who is afraid of cotton balls. She makes her roommates say "C-balls." Some other folks are afraid of tall library shelves and submerged objects. Some of these phobias are, well, strange. Bet you could look into this anywhere and come up with a fun piece. CONTACT: Rachel Cushing, (678) 640-6979, rcushing@uga.edu.

No Drought Benefit -- Northeast Georgia had a severe drought that just lifted a couple of weeks ago, and conservation efforts didn't seem as strong as they could be. Just as we only seem to focus on fuel economy when gas is at $4 a gallon, we haven't learned to conserve as a way of life or make any permanent changes to prevent the next set of problems. CONTACT: Jessica Russell, jrussell@uga.edu.

Facebook Facelifts -- Some young women are now so focused on their pictures on Facebook, they're even having plastic surgery to improve their image. They're also spending so much effort capturing pictures of their life that some sociologists say they're not living it. At least one therapist has said this is causing serious issues with self-esteem and body image. The focus is no longer on just going out and having fun, but on getting the pictures to prove it. Some people are apparently also hiring or appointing people to take pictures when they're out so they can concentrate on the event at hand. CONTACT: Jenna Sanford, (770) 842-0752, jencross@uga.edu.

High School Sororities -- There are apparently a bunch of high school sororities that also haze. They're not exactly "school groups," so high schools don't really have control over them. Like their college counterparts, the students caught between tradition and abuse. CONTACT: Tori Wilkinson, (404) 502-4460, tori89@uga.edu.

Court House Electronics -- You can go to jail now for having your cell phone go off in court. While that's radical, many phones are confiscated and some people are fined. The courts are also dealing with the question of how to handle people, especially reporters, who want to blog their way through trials. CONTACT: Leslie Johnson, 404-324-8712, thtrpch2@uga.edu.

"Shacking Up" Doesn't Mean What It Used to -- My generation said "shacking up" meant you were "sleeping together," as in having sex. At least some people in the younger generation say it is only the former, not the latter. A reporter found a couple that does this. They say it increases trust and respect, builds self-esteem because it shows will-power, and is sometimes the only time they can be together because of busy schedules. Their parents aren't buying it, as much as they'd like to. One psychologist called it a "slippage" of social norms across generations. CONTACT: Mackenzie Patterson, (706) 781-5566, kenzie23@uga.edu.

Cops Target Athletes -- Some cops in Athens apparently have checklists of athletes they've arrested. There are lots of different angles to this story. One police officer said it's awfully hard to ignore some really drunk kid who you've seen in the paper a half dozen times and who you know is underage. Some folks yearn for the good 'ol days when the police "worked with" the coaches to keep kids out of trouble. Some still do, offering them rides homes, but not all officers. In any case, it's not an even playing field for all college athletes. CONTACT: David White, (404) 964-8792, dwhite06@uga.edu.

Scooter Rallies -- Hell's Angels they're not, but an increasing number of people are getting together for weekend rallies. Competitions include slow speed races, towing people in plastic swimming pools across the grass and picking out the most obnoxious person at the rally. Obviously no one takes these very seriously. Held in camp-outs on weekends, the rallies have great names such as the "Fist City Death Rally" and "Joe Mama's Rally." This story could be an offshoot of the scooter craze. CONTACT: Matt Evans, (770) 315-0939, mje87@uga.edu.

Meds from Vets -- Apparently a bunch of veterinarians are giving their families and friends medications intended for animals. In many cases the drugs are the same, and only the dosages are different. Obviously a vet giving medication to someone is illegal. Pharmacists say it can also be dangerous, but safety is disputed among different professionals. This might be the result of the tight economy or an over-controlled drug industry. CONTACT: This was a class project.

[News Is Broken]

Seven Ordinary Objects That An Attacker Can Use To Kill Your Entire Family. From your garden hose to your lawnmower, your home is filled with dangerous objects that can be used by an attacker to kill everyone you love and hold dear. By selecting seven seemingly harmless objects you can not only come up with a top notch sweeps piece, but you can create some really interesting visuals that will grip your viewers in petrified horror. CONTACT: News Is Broken.

[The Mockingbird]

Seven Ordinary Objects That Can Give You Teh Marfans. From a new-fangled microwave to one of those things that record the TV shows without a tape, your home is filled with objects that can give you and everyone you love teh Marfans. By selecting seven seemingly harmless objects, you can demonstrate exactly how someONE CAN GET TEH... OH CRAP. CONTACT: TEH MOCKINGBIRD.


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[NewsMom]

Isn't there a college newspaper?

Well, act like a REAL TV reporter, and go steal the stories from that.