What makes story newsworthy

Significance: an entirely new phenomenon or class of object, or a key finding in a critical field. Unusual angle: a new twist on an old result or a quantum leap in certainty about something.

A record: the discovery is the first, last, oldest, youngest, biggest, smallest, fastest, slowest, etc. Sexiness: not in the usual sense, but in the sense that people are always interested, e. Aesthetics: the finding is accompanied by an exceptionally beautiful image or spectacular video.

Distinguished publication: the work is published in a leading, prestigious journal. Treatment trumps topic. How a story is told is more important to the audience than its topic, what it is about.

The best story is a well-told tale about something the reader feels is relevant or significant. The best stories are more complete and more comprehensive. They contain more verified information from more sources with more viewpoints and expertise. They exhibit more enterprise, more reportorial effort.

This means stories need to be carefully tailored to the interests and concerns of that group, taking into account their likely level of knowledge.

For instance a story around remote learning from an EdTech client should be pitched very differently depending whether the publication is aimed at teachers or parents. A truly newsworthy story will always provide something new or unexpected to surprise or inform the audience, rather than simply regurgitating information that is already widely available. It could be exclusive results from research or a fresh perspective on an existing situation from an industry expert. The story should progress the conversation already taking place in the media and add something new and valuable to guide its direction.

If the story relates to an event or occurrence what is unusual about it? Is it the first, the last, the biggest or the smallest? Naturally any claims to this effect will need to be verifiable. This can present something of a dilemma to businesses looking to put out a positive message but it is not an insurmountable obstacle to being newsworthy.

For our clients, bringing the vital conflict element to a story often involves outlining a problem that needs addressing, and then illustrating how their technology can be used to solve the issue.

The human element may be the last in the truth acronym but it is arguably the most important. People engage with stories about other people, rather than about technologies, regulations or statistics.