AP Contribution Guidelines

Here are some points to consider before offering a story to AP. The list is not intended to be all-encompassing, but to provide ideas for the kinds of stories AP members find most useful. If you're not sure whether to offer your story, give us a call.

Weather & Other Disasters

YES:

• Major fires
• Outbreaks of disease
• Severe weather and its effects, including tornadoes, ice and hail storms, heavy snows, damaging rains, record heat or cold
• Commercial plane crashes
• Small plane crashes involving fatalities or unusual circumstances
• Train derailments or wrecks
• Explosions
• Chemical spills causing injuries, evacuations or significant environmental damage, or that shut down highways

NO:

• Minor storm damage
• Minor or non-fatal fires, unless they are unusual

Crime / Courts

YES:

• Major crimes
• Riots
• Arrests, formal charges and verdicts in court cases of statewide interest

NO:

• Routine developments in routine trials (such as pre-trial motions, changes of venue or judge and minor changes of charges)
• Routine assaults
• Petty crimes
• Non-fatal shootings, stabbings or beatings unless factors make the attacks unusual, e.g. the victim or assailant is well-known or the mode of attack is unusual
• Minor bank robberies
• Routine traffic fatalities
• Bomb scares, unless they cause significant evacuations, close city blocks or otherwise
• cause major disruption of normal activities

Drugs

YES:

• Major drug busts and raids
• Drug cases involving shootouts or prominent people, or that are unusual
• New anti-drug laws or unusual anti-drug programs

NO:

• Drug busts/arrests involving less than 100 pounds of processed marijuana or a kilo of cocaine, unless there are unusual circumstances

MURDERS

YES:

• Multiple murders
• Single-victim murders that involve unusual circumstances, a prominent person or happen outside the metropolitan areas, where murders are common. Offer stories on the incident, arrests, formal charges and verdicts only, except in high-profile cases of statewide interest when changes in dates, venue or charges occur

NO:

• Routine one-victim murders in big cities, where murders are more common
• Stories on routine developments in low-profile homicide trials.

DEATH / SUICIDES

YES:

• Accidental deaths, including those in farm accidents
• Fatal plane crashes
• Major fires
• Any death involving unusual circumstances
• Deaths of prominent public figures
• Cases of murder-suicide

NO:

• Suicides, unless they are unusual or they involve a prominent person
• Routine accidental deaths in major metropolitan areas

TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

YES:

• Traffic fatalities that involve multiple deaths, unusual circumstances or prominent people
• Accidents that involve chemical spills or close highways

NO:

• Routine one-victim traffic fatalities (note exceptions above)

DROWNINGS

YES:

• On routine single-victim drowning, offer stories only when the drowning is reported -- and again if there is late identification of the victim and recovery of the body. When a prominent person or multiple victims are involved, AP may request daily stories on the search.

NO:

• Daily search stories on routine drowning

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

YES:

• Labor strikes, layoffs, demonstrations, announcements of new plants or of major expansions, business or plant closings, takeovers, significant plant accidents or fatalities, major lawsuits, farm news

NO:

• Annual reports on small companies, minor plant accidents

GOVERNMENT / PUBLIC MEETINGS

YES:

• Meetings where action of statewide or regional interest is taken or where a prominent person speaks and says something newsworthy. Include speech quotes. Please let the bureau know in advance about meetings you think will be of interest, providing background if you have it.

NO:

• Routine city or county meetings, speeches by public figures who don't say anything newsworthy

FEATURES

YES:

• Feature/human interest items, off-beat stories or brites of regional, state or national appeal