What makes a story a national news story?
A Tale of Two Beach BBQs
Back in summer 2021, the local council in Brighton & Hove made the decision to ban disposable barbecues on Brighton beach. The story made national news and was covered by multiple outlets, including the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror.
Then in summer 2023, nearby Canterbury City Council followed suit and imposed a similar disposable barbecue ban on a 14-mile stretch of beach in Kent. This was only covered in the local press.
Both these councils made exactly the same decisions, with the same outcome for beach users (alas, no more charred yet raw sausages for the people of Brighton and Kent).
So why did one make the national news but the other did not?
Ticking the national news boxes
There is often a fine line between what constitutes a national news story and what doesn’t quite make the cut. When you’re pitching to the national press, you need to make sure that the stories you’re sending meet the criteria for national news.
So how do you do that?
Asking yourself the three questions below is a good place to start if you’re trying to work out whether your news story is a national news story.
Let’s go back to the beach barbecues and I’ll show you what I mean…
1. Would someone in Newcastle or Penzance or Coventry [or insert any town here] care about this?
Whatever their political leaning, UK national newspapers and websites are essentially all read by the general public. That means any story you pitch needs to have something about it that is interesting to and/or affects the majority of the population - or at least millions of people.
So, a story about something that is happening all around the country (for example, a supermarket product recall or a change to income tax rates), easily ticks that box because it affects a lot of people nationally. But with stories about something only happening in a specific place or affecting a small number of people, it’s likely to only to be national news if you can answer “yes” to the question: “Is there something in this story which the wide general public will care about?”.
Ask yourself: Why should the general public care about this story?
In the case of the beach barbecues, one of the reasons the Brighton beach story made the national news was because almost everyone living in the UK has heard of Brighton beach. It’s regularly pictured on the news (if you ever read a news story about the weather, the chances are it’s illustrated with a picture of Brighton beach). A lot of people have been there, or know someone who has. And because the beach receives 9 million day-tripper visitors every year, the barbecue ban affects a lot more people nationally than just local residents.
But how many people outside of Kent have heard of Seasalter and Reculver, where that ban applied? No offence to the good people of Kent, but this location just simply isn’t as recognisable (or relatable) for the general public.
If you’re pitching a story about, say, a product launch or an awareness campaign, think about how you can broaden it out so it applies to as many people nationwide as possible. For example, is it only happening in one area right now, but there are plans to roll it out nationally? Even if those plans are at a very early stage, try to emphasise the fact this could potentially be available nationally in future.
2. Does it resonate with readers’ interests or concerns?
For any publication to run a news story, it has to pique the interest of its target audience. With the national press, that usually means it’s something a lot of people are interested in, concerned about, or have strong opinions on.
For example, a story about something which affects cancer patients (like a new type of treatment or an increase in waiting times for diagnosis), may well be a national news story because it ticks the first box: a lot of people either have cancer or know someone who does, and the second one: we’re all concerned about our health and the health of our loved ones.
Similarly, a story about an amazing new gadget which stops mould appearing in your shower could also be a national news story. That’s because a) millions of people own showers and b) most people haven’t figured out a good way of stopping shower mould. (BTW I just made up this shower gadget, I don’t think it actually exists - if it does, please tell me!)
Is there something about your story that most people would be interested in, concerned about or have a strong opinion on?
Why does a story about a barbecue ban on Brighton beach make national papers, when a ban in Kent doesn’t? It’s because the council in Brighton - the only Green Party-run council in the country at the time - said one reason for the ban was to help tackle climate change by reducing the amount of CO2 released into the air.
So, not only are we talking about one of the UK’s favourite tourists spots, but this story will interest people with an opinion about climate change and how politicians should tackle it - which is a lot of people.
It’s probable the Mail (a right-of-centre middle-market publication) ran the story because its readers have strong opinions about politicians “interfering” with their personal freedom and are sceptical about how much barbecues contribute to climate change (or about climate change full stop…). On the flip side, the Mirror (a left-of-centre tabloid) knows its readers are more concerned by climate change and are interested in different efforts made to combat it. Plus a lot of them probably go on holiday to Brighton. And it makes for quite a good clickbait headline (but that’s a whole other newsletter…).
When you’re pitching any news story, think about how the issue will resonate with the general public. Readers are always interested in and concerned about issues that could affect either themselves or their families. This is why newspapers are full of stories about topics like health, education, motoring, banks and supermarkets - because we all have some experience of or interaction with these things in our daily lives. If you’re pitching about a niche topic few people have heard of, find a way to link it to common interests and concerns.
3. Does it speak to people on a human level?
Humans love to hear about other humans. The reason True Crime novels, podcasts and TV shows are so popular is because they’re about normal people, who happen to have something dramatic happen to them during their normal lives. They’re relatable because we all live normal lives, so we can imagine we are just like the characters involved - and they pique our interests and concerns because a lot of us secretly wonder if something dramatic might happen to us too.
In many ways, national news stories are just the same. They are almost always either about people and the things they have done, or about issues and/or political decisions which affect normal people in some way.
Is your story about real people? Can readers imagine themselves or their family in the same situation?
A national news story can be about something that has happened to just one person (for example, the death of Dame Maggie Smith) but resonates with millions of us on a human level (we’ve seen her in films so we relate to her - and perhaps she reminds us of our mum or gran).
Or it could be about a decision that is made by a business or government, which millions of us can relate to. For example, the story Instagram introducing a version for teenagers because of concerns about its damaging effects on mental health. This not only affects millions of people but is also relatable because we all remember how hard it is being a teenager and we know how difficult social media can be to cope with.
When you’re pitching, consider what it is about your story that will resonate with people. Whether it’s a personal story of someone overcoming a relationship breakup in a positive way (we can all relate to relationships), or a new product which could help solve a common problem (e.g. trouble sleeping, annoying self-checkout machines, difficulties getting a GP appointment - the list of common relatable human experiences is nearly endless), make sure your pitch emphasises the “human” aspects people will relate to and care about.
If there’s nothing in your story that’s either about a person or about something which real people can imagine themselves doing or being affected by, then it may not be a national news story.
That doesn’t mean you don’t have a story - it might just need some work to make sure it answers these questions. I’ll be sharing more about how to find the “human” aspect of your pitch in an upcoming newsletter.
One more thing…
If you’re thinking about pitching to UK broadcast media, check out this excellent X thread by the media relations manager at Electrical Safety First for lots of really practical tips.
I’d love to hear what you think about these three questions. Has this tactic worked for you? Are there any other questions you’d ask yourself before pitching a national news story? Let me know in the comments!