Find the Human Angle to Make a Story Meaningful

News is about people. Sure, there are the finance and government stories whose news hooks relate to changes in the economy or laws. But the meaning in a story is always about how the change impacts people. For example, news stories containing statistics or research data include real world, human examples to make the information meaningful.

Be Ready to Describe Real Examples

When pitching your story to a journalist, be prepared to relate examples of how your product, service or program is impacting actual individuals. Have these individuals' permission to tell their story, and to provide their names and contact information to the media.

Example of How the Human Angle Made a Story Interesting

I made a successful pitch to a local daily paper last Friday, because I had told the writer about the motivation of the people behind the project. The topic -- new road signs -- isn't particularly exciting. But the individuals who spearheaded the effort had interesting histories behind their motivation for wanting to see these particular signs posted in their communities.

What may seem like a bland topic could become very interesting when you explore the human angle.

This issue of PR Tip of the Month was delayed because of the New Year's holiday.