On this page you can learn how to create a good story, whether you are writing an article, taking a photo or creating a video. Part of being a Young Reporter for the Environment is to inspire positive change. You can do this in different ways, but we encourage you to always keep your stories positive and solution-oriented.

How to publish a story on YRE Hub?

First contact the YRE National Operator in your country to ask for the log-in details to access the YRE Hub platform. Then follow this guide to share your story with the world:

YRE Tutorials

How to write a good article: Writing 101
How to take a good photo: Photography 101
How to make a good video: Video 101

Investigating local environmental issues

Choosing and researching a topic
Try to focus on an issue that is affecting your community in some way and that you feel strongly about. Always aim to describe the issue in detail by collecting information from various valid sources, e.g. newspapers, peer-reviewed articles, books, and trusted websites.

Conducting interviews
Once you have collected some background information, you are ready to do interviews. Always talk with different people who can share their opinions and knowledge of the topic you are making a story about – but remember to use your critical thinking skills! Try to consider the reasons behind people’s statements or opinions – and just because a person is eager to voice his/her opinions, doesn’t mean that they should play a key part in your story.

Stay positive and inspire change!
YRE encourages constructive journalism and we want to challenge the dominating negative media landscape. YRE stories may focus on serious environmental challenges, but they should always include solutions, learning opportunities, and a hopeful outlook on the future.

Article Checklist

Below are a list of things you should always remember when writing a journalistic article for YRE Hub.

A CLEAR STORY, ANSWERING SIX MAIN QUESTIONS
Try to keep your story as focused and clear as possible, answering the main questions below. Accept that you will not be able to include ALL the information you find during your investigations.

1. What happened?
2. Who was involved?
3. Where did it take place?
4. When did it happen?
5. Why did it happen?
6. What are the possible solutions?

A STRONG HEADLINE
A good headline is catchy and attention seeking and succinctly describes what this story is about. A headline is extremely important and can include words and thoughts designed to catch someone’s eye and get that person interested in reading what follows the headline.

A GOOD INTRO
A good intro this is your hook to get them to read to the end. The first few lines of your story have to be appealing and interesting for the reader to carry on till the end. Remember to try and keep your sentences short, and don’t just repeat your headline.

PERSONAL QUOTES
Personal quotes must ALWAYS be included to either give an opinion or make the story more personal. If you ask the six questions from above to your interviewee, then you will be able to find a good quote from what they have said and include. Quotes are also a great way of attracting attention to your story.

STRONG VISUALS
Corny but true; a picture says more than a thousand words! Your photo should describe in visual terms what your story is about. It should be obvious and not too obscure or abstract.

CONTENT IN DIFFERENT FORMATS
Once you have your written story, then you can extract different parts for different media platforms. Maybe for Twitter a quote and the link to the full story, Facebook just the intro and the link to the full story and for Instagram the photo and the intro with a link to the full story. Remember your hashtags and tagging for social media.