Brainstorming Session to generate news story ideas

Either in pairs or in groups, use the attached worksheet to encourage the students to come up with their own news stories.

As a class, consider the followimg advice from a national newspaper editor:

Questions to ask yourself:

Is this a story? Are we telling our audience something they don’t know? Is it new?
What is the impact of this story? Is it relatable? How many people will it affect?
Is it relevant, interesting and independent?
Is it true, fair and accurate?
Is there a balance of views? Are we being played? Have we approached every relevant party for their views and given them adequate time to respond?
Is there an invasion of privacy?
Could this be considered hate speech?
Are we identifying minors?
Have we fact checked the story?
Is there anything in our coverage of it that might undermine trust in us?
Has it been through the legal process?