10 Story Ideas for May, 2026
Dave Davis, director of the ASB Workshop, advised a high school newsmagazine for 34 years at Hillcrest High School. Now he is doing the same with a first-year program at Greenwood Laboratory School. He will post the “pitch meeting” the first day of each month, September - May.
On the Water: Warm weather is coming and stories relating to water might be a great way to reveal how much teens love water-related activities. Fishing, floating, surfing, skiing, you name it. These stories are all visual and can inspire some great videography.
Changes In the Air: What are some new things coming to your school next fall? Looking ahead to let your viewers know about a new club, a new construction project, a new class schedule, or changes in the lunch routine…ask admins for a preview of sorts, because school are always changing.
Green Thumbs: Find a student or two who enjoy gardening. Growing veggies and such. See how they get their hands dirty and take pride in their work. https://www.almanac.com/vegetable-gardening-for-beginners
Garage Sale Strategy: This is a great time of year for garage sales. They are probably popping up wherever you are. So what makes a successful garage sale? Planning. And there is a lot to it if you are serious about making it work. Check out these ten tips: https://www.instructables.com/Ultimate-How-to-have-a-Yard-Sale-Guide/
Who You Rootin’ For? There are everywhere on our TVs, our apps…reality competition shows. Some teens really get into their favorites, while some of the shows probably fall under the “Guilty Pleasure” category—shows they watch, but feel like they shouldn’t because they are cheesy, or not discussed in teen circles. What are the hot competition shows out there, and what makes them so popular with your audience? This could be a fun one. Note: You can use clips from the shows discussed since they are being used in a news context. Just don’t over-do it.
Signing Up to Serve: Roughly 5% of teens fresh out of high school (about 150,000) sign up to join the military. Maybe you have someone at your school making the choice to serve that you can focus on. Include their family as well. It is a big decision that impacts a lot of people. Here is a site with a lot of information: https://recruiting.army.mil/pao/facts_figures/
Going Away to College: What are the challenges grads can expect when they decide to go away to college, whether it’s a few hours away, or on the other side of the country? Check this article: https://nextstepdisciple.org/article/moving-to-college This would be a great story if you have a senior at your school planning to do this. And again, you might include mom or dad, who are definitely involved in this decision.
SPAM Alert: How do you handle SPAM calls? Consumers in the U.S. are getting 4.2 BILLION robocalls per month. Over half of those are telemarketing and scam calls. How do you handle them? To complicate matters, scammers and now using AI to clone voices and adapt their scripts in real time, making the calls sound more natural and convincing. There are apps out there that screen SPAM calls. This story can offer not just the problem, but some solutions.
Yearbookin’: In May and sometimes later in the summer, yearbooks are finally distributed at most American high schools. We say “finally” because the staff of the yearbook spends months planning and preparing for this. It involves a lot of dedication and a lot of hours outside of school time to create a the book. Maybe it’s time to give your yearbook staff some coverage. Talk to them about what it took to get the book ready for 2026, how they organized it. Interview the adviser, who is there each step of the way. It is a huge undertaking that benefits the entire school.
Prophecies: It used to be a thing—senior prophecies. Maybe it still is where you are. A really fun feature is a MOS with faculty and admins making predictions for seniors, usually with tongue-in-cheek. It provides a fun send-off and is pretty easy to put together. “I predict Johnny Smith will be late for his own wedding, just like he was late for my class every day.”