Assignment for February 18, 2021
Write a pitch for a story that you want to report. Due February 19 at 5 p.m.
Your story should include interviews and quotes from at least two people Three people will make the story better.
Write 300 to 500 words. Don’t feel that you have to pad it out. Look at the stories on HarlemView as examples.
Use either the inverted pyramid style, or the pyramid style. https://ccnyintroductiontojournalism.com/category/basics/
Remember to write the slug for your story and your name at the top.
Remember that every story has a beginning, middle and end and one idea should flow logically into another.
How to Write a Pitch
A pitch describes the story you want to tell. You need to write a short paragraph that gets attention and explains what you plan to do. So avoid writing, “I want to do a story about outdoor dining in New York City,” because that’s not a story. It’s a general idea. You want to look for an angle.
Your outdoor dining pitch might read like this:
Outdoor dining changed the look of many New York streets and saved over 10,000 restaurants, but what happens when it gets colder and winter sets in? I’ll visit a neighborhood with a number of outdoor restaurants and talk to two owners about their plans. I’ll also talk to customers to find out whether they will feel comfortable eating outside in frigid weather.
Or
Outdoor dining changed the look of many New York streets and saved a lot of restaurants, but what happens when the pandemic ends? Danny Meyer of the Union Square Hospitality Group agreed to talk us. He is a spokesman for the industry and can give us insight into what may happen. He said we can talk to his customers, if they want to talk to us.
I’ll also talk to the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs to find out what the city plans to do and I’ll talk to Nevah Assang, New York and Company’s senior V.P. for community relations, about how the tourism industry sees the future.
I’ll take photos of restaurants in a variety of neighborhoods and talk to customers.