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How to Build Your Clip File: Write For Local Newspapers
by LeAnn R. Ralph
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Writing for local newspapers is one way to build your clip file.
Many smaller newspapers (both daily and weekly) often do not have the staff to cover every newsworthy event or feature story possibility. I have been writing for newspapers both as a staff writer and as a freelance writer for more than eight years, and there are always events that newspapers would like to cover if only there were enough people to write the stories.
One example of a newsworthy event or feature story possibility includes activities at your local elementary school. One school in my area regularly hosts a "kindergarten rodeo." The students dress up like cowboys and cowgirls and put on a rodeo using stick horses.
Another example of a feature possibility is a human interest story. A woman in her late 60s in my hometown learned how to drive a backhoe so she could build a rock retaining wall in her garden.
Local events also make good stories for a newspaper. A bike-a-thon was organized in my area to raise money for a young boy diagnosed with cancer.
If you keep your eyes and ears open, you will soon have a list of story ideas that you can pitch to a newspaper editor. If you can take pictures that the editor can use to illustrate the story, you will be just that much farther ahead.
Here are some tips for writing newspaper stories:
1. Write a short, snappy lead, and don't bury your lead four or five or six paragraphs down into the story. If you don't know how to write a lead, start writing the story, and chances are, your lead will show up about four or five or six paragraphs down.
2. Remember the "32-word rule." A newspaper editor I once worked with insisted that leads be 32 words or less. Readers lose interest in the article when the lead is more than 32 words, she said.
3. Keep your paragraphs short. A typical newspaper column is only about two inches wide, and long blocks of text make reading difficult.
4. Be sure to include direct quotes. Let the people you are interviewing tell their story, at least part of it, in their own words.
5. Be sure you get the names right. (This should have probably been number one.) Even if it's a common name, ask for the spelling. Jane Smith might actually be Jayne Smyth.
6. Have fun. Everyone really does have a story to tell, and most people, even if they are a little shy at first, usually enjoy the attention and will give you a great story.
Bio: LeAnn R. Ralph is a freelance writer in Wisconsin. She is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer (the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers' Assoc.) and is the author of the book: Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) (August 2003). Click here to read sample chapters and other Rural Route 2 stories — http://ruralroute2.com
mailto:bigpines@ruralroute2.com
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