What makes news?
News means different things to different people, so you need to consider your target audience when testing whether something is newsworthy.
News often reports something which is the first, the biggest, a record-breaker, oldest, funniest, etc. In other words, it’s never happened before. The STEM Student Journalist project is the first of its kind in the UK so it has already gained local press coverage – and we are going for national too!
News should be interesting, unusual, can be alarming, might report on something threatening, can be amusing and quirky. For example, the 5 year old from Buxton, Derbyshire who is officially the youngest inventor for having taken out a patent on his two-headed broom has recently made headlines.
Who finds the STEM-related news stories?
There are a number of routes to finding news or feature stories.
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Visit organised STEM shows and events
Students can visit some of the many STEM-related exhibitions and events held in the East Midlands and beyond, and report on their observations. These include the Nano What? Nanotechnology Roadshow, Lab in a Lorry, the Space Academy, Ignite* events, etc. A full list of such events is regularly updated in the News section.
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Act as reporters
You may be called on to help report on a story or opportunity. These could involve visits to interview local companies, an interview with a celebrity scientist, or a visit to the local radio or newspaper to find out how they report on science stories. The SSJ Team may have already secured interest from a local paper or radio station to cover this story – so those pupils chosen to report need to be on top form!
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STEM studies in school or college
Why not report on a novel experiment, why you love mathematics, what inspired your physics teachers to teach – the possibilities are endless and will interest lots of people. Be as creative as possible.
How can we gather a news item together?
- Plan your story. Identify the theme, discuss with other pupils or a member of staff and think how the item is best reported.
- Write, record or video the news. Most people assume a news item is written – true, even the News Reader has a script. It’s a good place to start. Once you have a rough outline you can put a few lines together – try copying the style of your local newspaper and you will begin to develop a pattern to the words you write. Keep it simple and clear so everyone can understand.
Examples of reports will be regularly uploaded to the News section.
Audio recording an interview of your own observations is just as valuable but you need the right equipment – nothing technical or expensive. We suggest using a minidisc recorder which can file at 128KPS and saving as an MP3 file.
If you video your news, get the permission of those to be interviewed just in case it is so good we think it deserves to go on the STEM website. The final format of the video should be saved on a DVD.
What do we do with our news item?
- If the news item has been planned in school or college you may already have an immediate use for the report within school communications channels such as a website, newsletter etc.
- As the item will have been checked with staff, it might be strong enough to send to The SSJ Team for STEM Partnership PR use.
- The SSJ Team will arrange for a variety of reports to be posted to this website.
- The SSJ Team will take the very newsworthy items and talk to the local press/radio about them (with everyone’s permission). However, coverage can never be guaranteed!
Are there any rules we need to follow?
- All STEM reports must be checked and cleared with staff before being used in any way to communicate the message.
- Students must at all times be careful to report accurately and fairly, especially when quoting or representing someone else, their ideas or actions.
- No student should make direct contact with the press on an emda-funded STEM-related matter.
- Educational establishments should go through The SSJ Team if contact with the local media in relation to the STEM Student Journalist project is a possibility. This is to avoid any confusion or duplication of effort.