|
|
|
Nebraska City News-Press has been running a Q&A called "Who Mentored You?"
WHAT THEY DID: Reporter Grace Johnson came up with the mentoring idea as a Q&A, and the News-Press found that while some people don't want to talk about themselves, they are happy to talk about someone who made a difference in their lives. Editor Tammy Pearson said: "This series is really more than the simple profile, but an engaging, developed story on its own."
TAKEAWAY: For Inner Circle, you don't have to stick to the ideas we came up with for Q&A profiles. The mentoring series is an example of a window into one of your community members. You may know the mentor -- a local teacher, perhaps -- or you may not. But the person talking is revealing something about themselves and what they really value. Any good story, in any format, draws readers in by referencing what's important.
If you have an idea for an alternative story format, contact Jean Hodges or Sarah Corbitt so we can share them in our Best of the Day blog.
Jean Hodges served as a reporter and editor for more than 20 years and led groundbreaking projects that won national acclaim before coming to GateHouse to launch the company's news service. She worked most recently at the Chicago Sun-Times' Daily Southtown, covering the south side and south suburbs of Chicago. Before that she worked at the Killen (Texas) Daily Herald, the Clovis (N.M.) News Journal and the Ely Standard in Cambridgeshire, England. She now works with GateHouse news organizations on content strategies, Web initiatives, plus she leads training programs such as webinars and LEDE, GateHouse's leadership program.
