The following are examples of possible local media stories:

• Church Health Code (Word of Wisdom)—“Why Mormons Avoid Coffee.” Write a story on college students who make it through schooling without caffeine. Single out a local student who is living by this law and is now excelling in academics.
  
  
• Family Home Evening— “Local Grocer Bags Monday Night Work to Be with Family.” Invite a journalist to a family home evening with a member family. Show how a grocer bishop takes time to be with his family on Monday nights.
  
  
• Young Men/Young Women Service Activities—Invite a journalist to attend the highway cleanup activity that the youth of a ward provide in the community. Selected youth and leaders could be interviewed about why and how they serve. How did participating in the project make a difference in their lives?
  
  
• Seminary Program—The seminary program demonstrates to your community how the Church educates youth. Early morning seminary shows the dedication of high school youth to wake up early and learn values. Inviting a journalist into a class might be a good local story.
  
  
• Relief Society Blanket Night—Show what the women of the Church do with their humanitarian efforts.
  
  
• Young Men/Young Women Service—Youth in local congregation help fix up run-down (Protestant) church. Could be done in harmony with local Helping Hands (see Public Affairs Activities/Mormon Helping Hands Service Activities) effort.
  
  
• Jr. High (Elementary, High School) Teacher—Local teacher spends weekends teaching Sunday School at a local congregation. Or, local teacher spends time on weekends playing organ for local congregation.
  
  
• Hometown Machinist—Local machinist spends off-hours serving as a bishop of his congregation. This extra-curricular unpaid job calls for another 15–25 hours a week.
  
  
• Minority Leaders in the Local Area—Hispanic bishop, African American Relief Society president, and so on give service to diverse congregation.
  
  
• Hispanic Family Converts to New Faith—A family from Peru finds peace and happiness in their newly-found faith: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  
  
• Faith of Cancer Patient—A local cancer patient, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, continues to find strength in his or her faith.
  
  
• Marathon Runner—A local Church member runs in 12th marathon. The 55-year-old businessman is a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  
  
• Couple Adopts Second Child—A local couple who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints adopted their second child after three years of waiting.
  
  
• High School Basketball Star Stands Out—A local high school basketball standout finds his early-morning religious study program to help him achieve on and off the court. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smith takes courses provided by the Church before he attends high school classes.
  
  
• 12-Year-Old Plays Organ for Congregation—A local 12-year-old prodigy and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plays the organ in his church meetings every Sunday.
  
  
• Retired Principal Serves Mission with Wife—Bruce and Jane Smith will be leaving behind grandchildren, golfing, and gardening for a two-year mission to South Africa for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  
  
• Football Coach Disciplines with Love Instead of Language—Most athletes get used to hearing and learning from foul language during practice. But not in Coach Smith’s practices. Instead, Smith, a Mormon bishop, uses sweet boldness.
  
  
• Local Painter Shows Off Artwork at Church—The artwork of well-known painter Ted Smith will be displayed at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  
  
• Modest Is Best for Local Young Women—Two teenage young women from the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have decided to fight fire with modesty. They will be showing off tasteful, formal clothing for young women interested in dressing modestly for high school dances.
  
  
• LDS Woodworker Carves His Art into First Place—A local woodworker won first place this weekend at the county fair with his carving of “the angel Moroni,” a Book of Mormon prophet who visited a young Joseph Smith in the early 1830s.
  
  
• Inherited Plates—A local woman shows off her 150-year-old chinaware at the antique show. The china was handed down in her family from early Mormon pioneers who migrated from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley.
  
  
• Rare Book Collector Obtains 1830s Book of Mormon—A local rare book collector has finally achieved her lifelong dream: to obtain a copy of the first edition Book of Mormon published in 1830. Megan Johnson inherited the copy from a longtime friend who owned the copy.
  
  
• Teenage Journal Keeper—A local high school student not only keeps up in schoolwork, but also keeps a record of her life. Jane Jones hasn’t missed a day of writing in her journal since she turned eight years old. Being encouraged by her parents and church leaders, she has determined never to miss a day. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches its members to keep personal histories.
  
  
• Soda Pop Collector Gained Hobby in Australia—Soda pop bottles and cans from around the world aren’t regular collection items. Bruce Smith started collecting these items in Australia 34 years ago as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  
  
• Easter’s Special Meaning—Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints join other Christians this Easter to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection of the Savior is a central teaching in the Church.
  
  
• Christmas Spent with Family . . . and Church—Mormon Bishop John Smith will be celebrating Christmas this year with not only his family, but with his congregation. Smith leads the group of 400 who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

There are a couple of ways to get local media to listen and write about the dealings of the Church. Here are some steps:

Step One—Observe what’s newsworthy

To help tell the Church’s story locally, you must learn to recognize news opportunities as much as possible, including local TV news, talk radio, newspapers of all types, and more. Read and listen to as much as you can, wherever you go. Over time, you will begin to recognize the kinds of stories that appear in the religion section of the newspaper or a particular daytime talk radio show. With this knowledge, it will be easier for you to “package” stories about the Church for specific media outlets whose audiences you want to reach.

Step Two—Learn how to “pitch” stories to journalists

When you identify a newsworthy story about the Church, tell your local media representatives about it. A common way to do this is by e-mail or phone. If you are persistent, you can reach almost any journalist by e-mail or phone.

The best time to call is often early in the day and early in the week, but the reality is that journalists are—more often that not—extremely busy all the time, facing deadlines daily.

Practice your “pitch” repeatedly before picking up the phone, making sure that you have the strongest, most concise reasons why your story merits news coverage. Also, prior to calling, you could e-mail or fax the journalist information that supports your story.