What makes a
story newsworthy?

1. Timing

News: the clue is in the name. Things that are new, topics that are current all make for good news. FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is not a new idea. The public has always wanted to stay current on what's happening in their world. What has changed is the speed at which news reaches the public arena. Social channels have made it, so the Media needs to get out in front of a story, often before they have all the facts. Your Lookatmedia™ centre allows you to publish content, promote it to a journalist, helping them to get ahead of the story. If it happened today, it's news. If the same thing happened last week, it's no longer of interest to the journalist, the media, or the public.

2. Significance

The number of people affected by a story is essential. If your story only impacts a few people, it's not newsworthy. If it affects many people or changes the world in any real way, then it's newsworthy. In saying this, what's significant varies from journalist to journalist. A tourism story aimed at travel writers and their audience may be of little significance to a business writer. The same story told from a business perspective may be just what a business writer needs. The benefit of a Lookatmedia™ centre is that you can tell as many stories as you want, pitching from different perspectives, appealing to various journalists and their audiences.

3. Proximity

It makes sense that a story or an event that happens near us has more significance. The closer the physical proximity of a story to us, the more newsworthy it is. Proximity is not just limited to physical proximity; proximity also relates to things that are important to us. If we have a relationship with a person, place, culture, or issues close to a story, it is of greater interest. There is a nexus between proximity and significance, where they amplify stories newsworthiness.

4. Prominence

It would be no news to you that something that happens to a famous person receives more media exposure than if the same event happened to you. However, fame is not limited to people. Places, references to past events, issues and subject matter that has received a great deal of media exposure can be used to amplify the significance of your story. If you don't have famous or well-known people to include in your story, look for threads to other prominent reasons why journalists want to tell your story.

5. Human Interest

Not every piece of news must be current. Some newsworthy content can be classed as 'evergreen'. Human interest stories are such a class of content that doesn't date as quickly as regular news. It also doesn't depend on 'significance', 'proximity' or 'prominence'.

Human interest stories appeal to us on a deeper, more personal emotional level. They aim to make us laugh or feel empathy. Human interest stories exist in all forms of media, from TV news to print, to online media, to social media. This content connects us with our innate humanity. Having such content in the mix of your Lookatmedia™ centre is always a good idea.

6. Myriad pitches

Not every pitch idea you have will immediately land on the right ears. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what works. What's newsworthy and what's not is constantly changing. The best way to make sure you have newsworthy content is to use a tool like Lookatmedia™ centre, where you can publish dozens, hundreds or even thousands of ideas, to appeal to many journalists and media groups over the long term. Create an environment that invites repeated visits from journalists and media representatives, and you're on your way to become an essential voice in the media landscape.