How Newsrooms Choose Stories

There seem to be only two "speeds" in local television newsrooms—too slow and too fast.

On slow news days we're looking for stories which won't drive viewers to push the button on their remotes. But when there's breaking news everything speeds up and almost everyone drops anything else they're working on and concentrates on the big story at hand. Keep this in mind if you call. Ask if they're busy with breaking news or on deadline, and if the answer is yes simply say you'll call back at a better time and hang-up. Believe me, this will be appreciated!

It helps to have an idea of how newsrooms operate so you can get your information to the right people. The most visible people are the reporters you see on the air each day. You might think that speaking to a reporter is the best way to get your story covered, but that's rarely the case. Story decisions are usually made by managers, producers and assignment editors, beginning with an early morning conference call and, after everyone arrives in the newsroom, the morning meeting.

These story decisions don't come off the top of the meeting participants heads. And no, they don't all come from the pages of the local newspaper. Some originate with "wire" stories from the Associated Press, others from ideas generated by members of the news department staff, and others come from press releases received by the news department over the preceding days and weeks.