"Telling A Good Story: Getting from Idea, to Pitch, to Public," was presented by Generation PRX Director Jones Franzel at the 2012 NYC Digital Waves Youth Media Festival. Learn more at htttp://generation.prx.org
1. Telling A Good Story:
Getting from Idea, to Pitch, to Public
2012 NYC Digital Waves Youth Media Festival
2. Why Telling Stories Matters
“Your job is to say: Here I am.”
-- JadAbumrad
• The capacity to tell stories is a way of leaving
your mark the world
• Transformation through listening
3. How to Make a Story
Idea
Planning &
Pitching
Production
Created piece (psst… still not done!)
5. Generation PRX
• Place to share work, questions and ideas
• Connect with other youth producers
• Find teaching resources
• The GPRX Youth Editorial Board
• Build a portfolio
• Connections to PRX and beyond
6. • Motorola Mobility Grant & CT Public Radio
• Asked youth radio groups for pitches
• Mentoring, equipment, webinars, training
• Lots of coverage: 32 stations broadcast,
coverage on FoxNews.com (!) and Huffington
Post
7. Find the C.A.T.s
• Character
• Action
• Tension
• Try them in a FOCUS SENTENCE:
___(Character) ___does __(Action)__ but __(Tension)__
8. Checkmate
• From Tele’jon Quinn of Bay Area Video
Coalition. Listen for:
• Character
• Action
• Tension
• Specific details
• Universal elements
• Bonus: The focus sentence
9. Getting Inspired
Where do ideas come from?
• Something crazy you heard?
• A topic you’ve always wanted to
know more about?
• Something that happened to
you?
10. Using Structure to Find Your Story
• First thought, best thought!
• Jot down a quick idea (just a word or two) for
something you’d like to do in each of these
formats:
– Portrait
– Personal
– Gossip
– News
– Documentary
11. Why pitch your story?
• Distill the gem at the center
• Learn how to see / plan your way through a
story
• And eventually… have the tools to both break
into and break media.
12. Warm Up Your Pitch
• Keep it short and sweet
• Focus sentence
• Specific details
• Universal themes
• What questions will it raise?
• What will we see/hear?
• Why should we care?
13. Sample pitch
In the Anchorage School District our teachers use the Aggressors, Victims,
Bystanders (AVB) lessons to teach youth about bullying. We also do a unit
on bullying in our Health classes. My question is whether these AVB
lessons are actually making a difference in the Anchorage Community. In
other words; is it a solution? If it isn't, why? And in which places should
the class be refined so it could be changed?
The story will be 4-6 minutes long and will include interviews with
teachers, students and possibly the Disciplinary Principle. I will ask them
what they think of the solutions we use in the Anchorage School District. I
will ask the students if their parents views on bullying are the same as the
people who advocate AVB. I will ask them if they have encountered
bullying face to face or online, or have witnessed bullying and ask if they
see that bullying is common in their school.
14. You may have produced your story
but…
YOU ARE NOT DONE!
• Who will see/hear it?
• Where will people find
it?
• How will you get the
word out?
15. Get the Word Out
• PRX
• Blogs
• Email
• Throw a party / showcase event
• Create a digital portfolio
• Send me links when you’re done!
