Making the most of weekly story pitches

From The Rapidian staff*: One of the ways we at The Rapidian try to help our citizen reporters is by providing them with story ideas. The storybank is a great resource for those searching for something to write about, but there is also a weekly story pitch e-mail that goes out on Wednesdays to new reporters, reporters and editors. It is also posted as a Facebook note. This missive is aimed at providing contributors with possible story ideas, complete with a brief description of each item, a link to more information and potential questions.

The story ideas used in our weekly list are taken from Facebook, our own calendar, our storybank, the Grand Rapids Community Media Center calendar and other local sources. This list is organized into the same categories we separate our stories on The Rapidian, which can help contributors form a strategy on how to approach each story. The "potential questions" section of each item also indicates the major points of each potential story and what might be of most interest to readers.

For those interested in adding to our story pitch list, contributing to The Rapidian's storybank is one way of doing that. E-mailing us at [email protected] or directly e-mailing Rapidian Content Facilitator Matthew Russell at [email protected] is another way.

While this helpful update provides ideas for possible Rapidian coverage, these items are certainly not the only stories we are looking for at The Rapidian. Our editorial mentors and staff are always available to bounce ideas off of and discuss any other story pitches contributors might have. Contributors with their own story ideas are The Rapidian's most treasured resource and the engine that drives our coverage. The story pitch list is simply a quick rundown of events we've seen on the horizon; naturally, we can't anticipate everything and depend heavily on you citizen reporters for finding and writing about what happens in and affects the Grand Rapids community.
 

Each week, a Rapidian staffer will publish a piece related to goings-on at The Rapidian, developments in the world of citizen journalism and tips for making the most of the site.