This feature would complement material FSRN’s D.C.-based reporters produce pertaining to the Oct2011 protests in Freedom Plaza. It would focus on the question of how to build a mass movement.
According to many activists, ordinary people can reverse the concentration of wealth and power, as well as address our environmental problems. But having the strength in numbers to defeat those with huge amounts of money requires becoming far more organized.
Interviews would include some of the main organizers, but focus on ordinary activists, because the latter is in greater need of venues for voicing their concerns.
There likely will be plenty of people to interview. So, multiple, relatively short in-person audio clips would give the feature a brisk pace. But descriptive narration would distinguish the report from a vox pop.
This wouldn’t be an evergreen, but it could be aired within a week or so following the start of the protests on Oct 6. The focus of the feature would be on building a movement, not on the action, per se, though it would use it as a framework for this particular inquiry. Also, as you likely know, organizers intend to have the protests continue beyond the first week.
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[SURPRISE US: We are looking for true stories, events or people that present something new, important and interesting to a national audience.]
This feature would complements material FSRN’s D.C.-based reporters produce pertaining to the Oct2011 protests in Freedom Plaza. It would be at least a small part of an emerging dialogue among human rights, social justice, and environmental activists. How do ‘we’ (full disclosure here) build a mass movement to reverse the concentration of wealth and power within this nation and among nations, as well as address our environmental problems ?
[NATIONAL INTEREST: Would your story be more interesting to your local station than to people across the country? FSRN is a daily national and international news show aired on stations across the United States, so we are looking for stories with a national angle. International reporters do not have to always find the US angle in their pieces.]
[KEEP IT SHORT: One paragraph is best. Not whole scripts. Write a paragraph about the story you intend to produce; include your angle and a list of the sources whose voices you will use in your story, including if your sound is in-person or phone tape. It is a good idea to develop confirmed contacts with the sources you intend to interview before you pitch the story.]
Interviewees would be ordinary activists participating in these events, as well as some of the main organizers. But talking w/ the former is the higher priority, given that well-known organizers such David Swanson and Chris Hedges are not in need of venues for voicing their concerns. Multiple and relatively short in-person audio clips about how to build a mass movement should give the feature a brisk pace. But descriptive narration would give the report the sound of a feature, as distinguished from a vox pop.
BE SPECIFIC: Tell us why your story would interest our listeners: e.g., “On the eve of the scheduled execution of Frances Newton in Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union has issued a report called ‘the forgotten population,’ which takes a look at death row in America through the eyes of women.”
Most FSRN listeners likely are concerned about the corporate dominance over our society when it comes to environmental and social justice issues. Giant corporations and the ultra-rich have the power of money. But ordinary people have the power of numbers IF organized into a mass movement.
[WHAT’S THE NEWS PEG: Let us know whether the story is time-sensitive:
e.g., “Witherspoon’s story will be published in this week’s edition of Insects Today.” Or: “This would be a great story to run with the anniversary of the Smithsonian next month.”]
Though this wouldn’t be an evergreen, it could be aired within a week or so following the start of the protests on Oct 6. That’s because organizers intend to have the protests continue well beyond the first week. Plus, this story would be about building a movement and therefore not be limited to the D.C. protests, per se.
[OUR PROCESS: Your pitch will be circulated around the daily editorial team and each day a general consensus will be reached on what pitches we accept and which we decline, after which one of the producers will get back to you. Most often this happens in the evening after deadline after the change of shift between day and night producer. For breaking news and same-day production, please send pitches by 9:15 AM US Eastern Time. For less time-sensitive stories, you can send pitches anytime, but keep in mind that FSRN staff does not work weekends. If you want to propose a story for Monday, try to get your pitch in by 3 PM Eastern on Friday. An editor will respond with our intertest generally within 48-72 hours.
Send all feature pitch submissions to producers[at]fsrn.org. Send headline pitch submissions to headlines[at]fsrn.org.]
Story types and general guidelines
Read more about the TYPES OF SEGMENTS FSRN COMMISSIONS, including features, headlines, vox pops, reporter’s notebooks, and more.
Our allotted time for a feature story is about 3-6 minutes. A full feature requires a minimum of at least three different voices. Our second tier shorter news story runs between 1:30-2:59 minutes and requires a minimum of 2 voices. Headlines are a maximum of 1-minute. Voicers should be between 35-45 seconds.
If you have actualities that are not in English, provide a full transcription of the clip and a full English translation, as well as noting the gender of the source. Our production team will take care of the Voice Over mixes. However, please make sure that the English translations are clear and make sense so that the source’s intended meaning is conveyed.
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