Find Newsworthy Story Ideas

Staying connected and paying attention go a long way toward unearthing newsworthy content within an organization.

• Attend meetings and company events.
• Read current and past issues of company newsletters, magazines or other background materials.
• Review industry blogs to stay up on current trends.
• Conduct interviews with relevant people or to follow up on interesting leads.

Public relations practitioners can pitch newsworthy story ideas to reporters. They can also publish their own newsworthy content, practicing “brand journalism” or “corporate journalism.” This allows readers to find the content directly, and it often results in coverage by other media as well because the information has news value. It can also be a help to the declining number of journalists working hard to cover the news. There were more than six public relations specialists for every reporter in 2018, the Muck Rack blog reported using U.S. Census Bureau data.

OhioHealth got a great response from the public and media for its Secret Lives series, which showed the other sides of physicians, nurses and subject matter experts. One article highlighted a nurse who pursues her passion for singing on the side and another a physician assistant who volunteers at a pay-what-you-can-afford café.

Gleason says she and her team also follow the news and watch anything gathering attention. “We ask ‘what’s happening in the world and is there a local or Ohio tie? Do we have an expert on this topic to help better explain the topic?’”