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Presenting Story Ideas

Pitch your way to success with Paula Fray

Pitching story ideas is a core skill for any journalist or content producer, whether you’re established in a newsroom or operating as a freelancer. Regardless of how good you are as a writer or a producer, your skills don’t mean much unless you can convince the people who commission your work to buy into your idea. You (and your story idea) only get one chance at a first impression, so make sure it counts! Join award-winning journalist, Paula Fray, and learn how to write captivating pitches that your editors won’t be able to resist.

 4 weeks online eLearning / 2 days training facilitated online or in person

Course overview

Pitching a story you’re passionate about can be daunting, even for the most experienced writer. The quality and impact of that first pitch to an editor or commissioner can be the difference between seeing your article come to life or fizzling out before it even gets off the ground. It’s up to you to sell your idea and get the people around you as excited about it as you are!

Your pitch is often the only shot you have at convincing a commissioning editor that your story is newsworthy, timely, relevant and worth publishing. Each pitch should speak to the news value of your story and why it’s a right fit for the publication you’ve reached out to.

Different publications have different requirements, and there can even be multiple submission guidelines for different sections of the same publication. Pitching – like writing – is rarely a one-size-fits-all endeavour. In order to make sure your pitch makes the necessary impact, you need to tailor the information you convey about the story and how you convey it, depending on the publication.

This course takes you through the basics of how to pitch your story – from developing ideas, building source relationships and networks, refining and selecting ideas and presenting them in such a way that they get chosen.

Over the course of the training you’ll engage in educational games, have access to online resources, complete quizzes and assignments and learn how to make sure your pitches stand out above the rest.

Outcomes and goals

  • Sharpening your nose for news
  • What makes a good story?
  • Collecting the necessary information you need to pitch
  • Developing your source network
  • Collecting everything together for your pitch
  • Appropriate pitching formats
  • Tools for supporting your pitch
  • Verbal communication basics and how to be convincing
  • Incorporating feedback and revising

Training facilitated online or in person

Real time individual and group learning with our media and communications professionals.

eLearning

Learn online at your own pace on our eLearning platform.

Address

fraycollege,

Technology House,

Greenacres Office Park,

Victory Park,

Johannesburg,

2195

Contact us

info@fraycollege.com

+27(11) 888 0140

Paula Fray
Paula Fray
Paula Fray

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