1. Profile Stories
News Gathering

2. Possible Examples - a teacher battling cancer
- a student that finishes top of the class despite being homeless
- a former NFL football player coaching a high school team
- a principal who is a passionate about fly-fishing
- a group of students going on a mission trip to Haiti for the summer

3. More Examples
- Person spending nearly 30 years in prison for crime he did not commit; earns chance to fight one professional fight at the age of 52.
- Former reporter caught fabricating numerous stories for well-respected publication; currently trying to earn license to practice law.
- Famous television actor decides to become a high school English teacher.

4. How to Find Profile Stories?
First, embrace this statement:
There are stories to be told within the school walls.
So, how do you find these stories? Here a few suggestions.

5. Lottery
At the beginning of the school year, create a system in which students are required to draw the names of five students. Try to have them draw from a complete list of the student body.

6. Lottery
Give students a certain time period (one week is suggested) to find and talk to as many on the list as possible. The talk is simply to find something interesting about any of the students on the list. Search out story angles.

7. Lottery
Gather information from the staff to create a story bank. Do a similar activity replacing the student list with a faculty/staff list.

8. Superlatives
Not to be confused with the once-traditional choosing of certain seniors (most popular, best all-around).
This idea is to find factual-based superlatives.

9. Superlatives 1. Who traveled the farthest this past summer?
2. Who earned the most money through summer jobs?
3. Who is the youngest student at school?
4. Who is the youngest teacher? Oldest teacher?
5. Who was the first student to enter the school building on the first day of school?

10. Superlatives 6. Who most recently met a celebrity?
7. Who is the leading performer for a team, a play, a band?
8. Who owns the most pets?
9. Who has ridden the most roller coasters?
10. Who owns the oldest car in the student lot?

11. Superlatives
Use the daily announcements or social media to get school community members to submit possible answers (crowdsourcing). Even if you do not find the best, worst, least, most, you are bound to find good leads.

12. What is a Profile Story?
A story that reveals background, lifestyle, challenges, accomplishments, and/or failures of a person or a group.
It is not a complete biography of a person; it focuses on a specific story angle that makes us want to know more about the specifics of this person.

13. Beats
Assign students to every team, club, subject area, class or other school-related group.
Make sure that students visit these groups and learn of their goals and expectations during the year.
Look for novelty from these groups.

14. Observe and Listen Here is something else to consider:
Aim to be a journalist 24/7. Always be on the look out for potential stories. And do not necessarily focus only within the school community. Everyone likes a good story.

15. Methods of Research
Obviously, finding the story will take some research. Once you find a subject to write a profile story, make sure to develop background on the subject. Do this for validity, news judgment, and solid background.

16. Validity
So a staff writer says that a potential source spent the summer in Paris. Do we automatically assume we have a story?
What if we find out the student spent the summer in Paris, Texas, not Paris, France. Might still be a story, but hopefully, you get the message.

17. Validity
As with any story, always check out the facts prior to committing to it. Look for documents, records, confirmation, or anything else that will provide evidence.

18. News Judgment
Does the subject offer a story that has news value? Will readers care? What news values are evident?
Look for prominence, human interest, novelty, consequence, conflict, timeliness, currency, and proximity.

19. Background
Look for evidence that will support the story. is the subject associated with an organization? Are there other sources that will contribute to the story? Has another media source covered this story? Are there similar stories?
Gain some expertise, especially before preparing your interviews. Do your research.

20. Observation So you have chosen your subject, verified the
subject’s story as valid, and you have gained background. Should we get to interviewing? Maybe.
But what might be just as important is what you see with the subject. Plan to spend some time in observational mode. Give yourself a chance to delve into your subject’s environment.

21. Observation Consider these possibilities.
- You have a female playing on the football team. Spend some time watching her practice and play in a game.
- A mother has started an organization to help reduce teenage suicide after losing her son to an overdose of drugs. Attend a speaking session; interview her at her home.

22. Observation
- Spend the day with a teenage father spending time with his daughter.
- A group of students are hosting a 5K run to fundraise for a student in need of major medical treatment. Watch them plan and conduct the event.
- Your principal is an expert fly fisher. Go fishing with him.

23. Observation
For a scholastic journalist, this is easier said than done. However, observing your source in action allows you to show, not just share, the story to your readers.
Experience their environment.

24. Interviewing
A profile story without a live, one-on-one interview? Forget about it.
The live interview is absolutely essential to the profile story.
However, it should be noted that you might need to conduct a live interview with more than one source, and quite possibility, that major interview might not be with the subject, but with someone else associated with the story.

25. Interviewing
Plan to interview several people when doing a profile story. Your background research should reveal several sources to talk with. Look at the following scenarios.

26. Interviewing Profile: Teen Father
Sources: teen mother, parents, counselor
Profile: Female Football Player
Sources: coaches, teammates, best friend
Profile: Fly-Fishing Principal
Sources: wife, kids, fishing partners

27. Interviewing - Plan to create a conversational interview.
- Use audio or video to record the interview, especially as part of your observations.
- Develop a long list of questions. Focus on getting the hows and whys of the story.
- Develop a comfortable relationship with your source over time.

28. Interviewing
- Formulate your questions following your background research. Show some level of expertise with your questions.
- Visualize the types of response you might receive. But embrace the surprise responses.
- Make sure to ask tough questions, especially with stories of consequence or conflict.

29. Interviewing
- Be thorough. Make that live interview count. Plan to follow up if needed. Gather more information than you will be able to use in your story.

30. Fact Check
Look over your notes and check for accuracy. Verify information provided by your sources. Consider performing read backs. With profile stories, make sure that hyperbole does not become an issue.

31. Final Note
While many profile stories are fun and entertaining, do not overlook those tough stories. Members of your school community face struggles and challenges.
These stories, if told effectively, thoroughly, and carefully, will increase your readership and validate your publication.