Here’s a list of broadcast story ideas for July 1-7, 2009.  I’ll keep my comments brief because my dashboard deleted everything the first go-around as soon as I wrote these up.  You’ll have to just take the story ideas and do without my voluminous witticisms this week.

1. Tea Parties. Scheduled for the 4th.  Expect an even bigger turnout this go-around, now that the Democrats have a supermajority in the Senate.  A quick Google search should turn up a local tea party for you to cover.

2.  Reformation 500. The actual event is July 1-4 in Boston, but people will be traveling from all over the country to attend.  It’s a 500-year celebration of the life of John Calvin and the Protestant Reformers.  Note to journalists:  nothing enrages the megachurch pastors more than mention of Calvinism.  Trust me, ask a local megachurch pastor about their take on John Calvin’s many valuable contributions to western civilization.  The results will be very entertaining for you.  Remember to duck.  Another note:  Without John Calvin’s work, there would be no United States of America.

3.  Independence Day. July 4th, the day we celebrate our independence from the papal jackboots of our British oppressors.  The colonists threw off the yoke of their British taskmasters and forged a bold new nation.   Something which modern geniuses refer to as “not legal”.

4.  Barbecue Season. Lots of folks are barbecuing right now.  Could be an easy feature for a morning show to find a local chef to cook up some unique barbecue recipes for your viewers.

5.  Campfire Cooking. While we’re on the subject of summertime cooking, lots of people are out camping this time of year.  You could a series of stories on campfire cooking techniques and recipes.  Take this guy, for example:

6.  Save the World. It’s National Clean Beaches Week July 1-7, 2009.  Oops, I just broke the embargo on their press release.  Environmental reporters will go nuts with this story, telling us about how man is sovereign and the earth will be destroyed if we don’t pick up all of the soda cans off the beaches, just like she’s doing in her standup!

7.  Battlefield Heroes. EA Games is trying something new with the release of Battlefield Heroes this month.  The game is free to download, but users can pay a fee to give their characters “cosmetic upgrades”.  Could be a good business feature story.  Methinks they’re trying something new in the age of online gaming piracy.

That’s our gaggle of broadcast feature story ideas for the first week of July.  Feel free to use any of them for yourself, and tweak them to your local market.  Got any tips for an upcoming story idea or event?  Send them to Robert@reformingjournalism.com

Technorati Tags: Barbecue, Battlefield Heroes, Business Feature Story, Camp Cooking, EA Games, Feature Story Ideas, Independence Day, National Clean Beaches Week, Reformation 500, Story Ideas, Tea Parties

Tags: Barbecue, Battlefield Heroes, Business Feature Story, Camp Cooking, EA Games, Feature Story Ideas, Independence Day, National Clean Beaches Week, Reformation 500, Story Ideas, Tea Parties

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 11:18 pm and is filed under Story Ideas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.