10 Story Ideas for Your School News Show - January, 2025

Dave Davis, director of the ASB Workshop, advised a high school newsmagazine for 34 years.

Those Resolutions: The failure rate for New Year’s resolutions is an estimated 80 percent, with most people losing their resolve and motivation just weeks later in mid-February, according to U.S. News & World Report. How about getting five teens (and/or teachers) who are making resolutions to share them on camera in early January, then check back with them in mid-February to see how they are doing? Are they part of the 80 percent, or are they actually hanging tough? This survey might help you get started: Statista Chart.

The Dynasty Divide: The Oklahoma Sooners softball team has won three straight national championships. The Kansas City Chiefs have won three of the last five Super Bowls. Both could be considered sports dynasties at this point. Is that a bad thing? Are sports dynasties causing more interest, or less interest, in their sport? Some argue dominant teams actually are a good thing. Discuss.

Top Stories: There are so many lists published this time of year. Best of 2024 in this category or that. The reason there are so many lists is simple—people enjoy reading, watching, or listening to them. Teen journalists might make a list of their own to highlight the past year in their world. Possibilities: Biggest stories at your school in 2024; Biggest changes at your school in 2024; Students’ favorite pop culture moments of 2024 (music, movies, shows, etc.); Biggest sports moments of the year; Favorite TikTok craze, etc. CBS recently did a pretty cool version: CBS Good Things 2024.

Board, not Bored: Since the pandemic, board games have made a comeback. The one that remains the favorite, played by 500 million people worldwide, is Monopoly, according to the Guinness Book of World Records back in 1999. How many more folks have cruised Boardwalk and Park Place since then? But there are many others that are extremely popular, including some tried and true games like chess, Clue, Scrabble, and checkers. What board games are teenagers enjoying? What are some new board games young people might enjoy?

About Recycling: About 2/3 of our schools are encouraging kids to recycle. Have you covered the topic of recycling on your show? If not, check out this informative list and find your own angle: RTS Recycling Facts. If you need help balancing your story, here’s another link that might help: Pros and Cons of Recycling.

Where the Teens Are: A survey by the Pew Research Center sorts out just which social media sites are drawing the most teens. The leader by far? YouTube. Overall, 73% of teens say they go on YouTube daily. An interesting fact…more boys use YouTube, more girls use TikTok. There is a ton of information available from the survey, which was published in December: Pew Research Teen Social Media.

Best Cars: Here is a list of 15 cars suitable for teens, with prices, insurance premiums, safety ratings, etc.: Best Cars for Teens. This could lead to a story about what teens are driving, who is paying for it…maybe you could survey students at your school and determine the five most popular cars in your parking lot.

Snow Days: For states where snow is common in the winter, and snow days are a possibility, who decides whether school is in or out? Ultimately it falls on superintendents in most places, but they usually have a procedure in place that helps them decide. How about providing some transparency and investigating the process that leads to snow days?

A Million Members: Actually, the Future Farmers of America (FFA) is over a million these days, making it the largest student-led organization in the United States. Texas, California, and Georgia have the most members, but the fastest-growing FFA states are Utah, Florida, and Alaska. It might be time to shed some light on this popular organization, and what it provides for the young people who get involved. Some background here about FFA: National FFA.

Everybody Has a Story: Popular reporter Steve Hartman and his cameraman, Les Rose, produced a fantastic series for CBS that proved everybody does indeed have a story. They selected people at random and, after interviewing them about their lives, found a great thread for a story. Some high school broadcasters have taken a similar approach—randomly drawing a student’s name and doing a profile of them. This can be a great exercise for a broadcast team, and it can help shine a light on a student who might otherwise never be featured on your show. There are challenges—some kids will refuse. But if you persevere, and have a great conversation with the selected student, you might strike journalism gold. Check out this example from Steve and Les: CBS Everybody Has a Story.