This document provides instructions for a profile story assignment. Students are asked to write a 650-800 word news story focused on a real, living person who is interesting and newsworthy. Examples of newsworthy subjects include athletes, artists, and people who have overcome adversity or won awards. The person profiled must be willing to be identified and have their story published. Students must pitch their story idea to the instructor in advance and receive approval before profiling someone. The completed story is due on March 6th and must follow standard newswriting practices.

1. Newswriting
Profile Story Assignment

2. What’s a profile story?
• A timely news story focused on a person who
is interesting and newsworthy.
• For example: They might be a star performer
or athlete. Maybe they’re a leader of an
organization or cause. Perhaps they’ve
overcome adversity. Or maybe they won a
prestigious award.

3. Common story type

4. Class examples
• In the past, students have written about
athletes, artists, musicians, dancers, actors,
business entrepreneurs, professors,
community activists, social media stars and
more.
• See Moodle for their stories.

5. Assignment requirements
• Person must be alive. No obituaries.
• Person must be willing to be identified and have
story published. Journalism is for the public.
• Person must not have been previously profiled.
Otherwise, they’re old news.
• Person must be newsworthy to the general
public, not just you. We’ll cover this later.
• Avoid conflicts of interest. No family, friends, SOs,
etc.
• Story idea is due Feb. 8. Multiple ideas
recommended. No extensions.

6. Newsworthy?
• Look for extraordinary, exceptional feats.
• Simply doing something is not newsworthy.
They should do it well. Or they should be very
unusual.
• Being well-rounded is not newsworthy.
• Remember: the “Who cares?” test
• See samples on Moodle.

7. Story must be timely
• Timeliness is a key element of newsworthiness
• Write about people who are accomplishing
things now, not about people who
accomplished things months or years ago.
• Without a news peg, the story seems random
and readers won’t understand why you’re
reporting it now instead of 6 months ago.
• That’s why late night talk shows interview
actors who have a new movie out or invite a
band with a popular new song to perform.

8. Choose an angle/theme
• Profile stories are not biographies or
Wikipedia entries.
• They’re not a chronological summary of a
person’s life. We don’t need every last detail.
• Choose a theme or particular focus.
• Go beneath the surface to look at what
motivates people, what excites them, what
makes them interesting.
• Show, don’t tell.

9. More advice
• Read assignment instructions online.
• Extensive interviewing will be required. Don’t wait till
last minute.
• Talk to others who know source well and get quotes.
• Be neutral. Keep your opinion out of the story.
• Write in third person, never first person.
• Story should be a mix of facts, with details and
description in some spots, and quotes. Strike a good
balance.
• Seek help from the Writing Center and the Comm.
Dept.’s writing assistant.

10. Pitch your story
• Email mgrabowski@adelphi.edu by Feb. 8
• Who you want to write about?
• Is s/he willing to be interviewed on the record?
• Why is s/he newsworthy to the public?
• Who else can you interview about him/her?
• Has s/he been covered before?
• Is there a conflict of interest?
• Don’t change topic unless you check with me.
• Ideas are first-come, first-served. Propose your idea
before someone else proposes the same idea!

11. Submitting the Story
• Due March 6
• 650-800 words long
• Email MS Word document to me
• Include photo of person and contact info for
sources
• Visit Writing Center or see Comm. Dept. writing
assistant before submitting
• Plagiarism and/or Fabrication will result in an
automatic F.