STORY BUDGET FORM

 

 

v     Every editor will submit a story budget for his section (politics, society, Sarajevo, etc.) with items from his reporters by 9:30 AM. (This means that reporters will have to be thinking of and anticipating daily story ideas several days in advance.)

v     Budget items are a “sales tool” for reporters to sell their ideas to their editor and for editors to sell to the Managing Editor (jerry).

v     Reporters, NOT editors, should do the forms and editors should review and refine the story idea with the reporter before it is submitted.

v     Editors should only include stories they believe the reporter can actually complete by the deadline.

v     The complete story budget will be printed and submitted to all editors by 10:30 AM for review before the 11 AM Editors Meeting.

v     The purpose of the story budget is to coordinate all editors so there are no duplications of effort and so that everyone in the newspaper knows what is coming for the day’s paper.

v     Editors will not have to explain every story idea in the 11 AM meeting because they can be read on the budget. The meeting will focus on the cover story, coverage missing in the budget, etc.

v     If you story is not on the budget IT WILL NOT GO IN THE PAPER.

v     If your story item does not “sell” your editor or the managing editor, IT WILL NOT GO IN THE PAPER.

v     The budget items must be typed in the following format in the story budget file with all fields completed in the manner shown, including capitalization:

 

FILE.NAME: DATELINE – STORY IDEA (A short paragraph that is a combination lead and thesis of the story that you expect to happen. Include your unique angle on the story and how you will cover it.) REPORTER NAME BY DEADLINE

PHOTO: (Give several possible photo or graphic ideas.)

 

Here is an example of what a story budget (with fictitious stories) for Politics might be:

 

NN STORY BUDGET  24/8/02

 

POLITICS

EDITOR: SANJA

 

PRIVATE.WRI: Banja Luka - RS assembly members will meet today to consider a law that will make changes in how public companies are privatizised. The proposed changes are supposed to answer the allegations of bid rigging at privitization auctions. Assembly members are expected to pass the law by a narrow margin. We will have interviews with PMs on both sides, former auction bidders who lost out under the old laws and potential buyers at upcoming auctions. KLINCOV BY 5 PM

 

 

BORDER.WRI: New border crossing opening at Kostanjnica this morning with ribbon cutting by Mihajlovic and Picula, which at least temporarily ends the conflict between Croatia and BiH. We will be there for the ceremony with the usual interviews with officials and the first ordinary people to use the crossing. But we will also press the officials on whether this really ends the fight between the two governments. This could be COVER because national significance and we will have good art. GAGULA BY 2 PM

 

RAKOVIC.WRI: Banja Luka - Follow on continuing story: Doctor who allegedly made the wrong diagnosis of little girl who later died defends himself against an investigation report. The report found that an operation to save her life was attempted too late. We have the official report. We will interview the accused doctor and the little girl’s father who is calling the doctor “guilty.” We will also interview other doctors who also missed the correct diagnosis but are not accused. RISOJEVIC BY 26/8/02

 

BANKS.WRI: Banja Luka - Follow on continuing story: RS auditor finds that the action of the privitization office to cancel bank debts before auction of the banks was not legal. However, privitizaton office says the auditor is wrong and nothing illegal happened. We will talk to both sides and get expert opinion from two lawyers and a university professor. We also have documents to show cancellation of the debt. STOJANOVIC BY 1 PM