Story leads: monthly content inspiration for publishers
What you’ll find on this page… Story ideas for the month or year ahead, key news industry events for your calendar, a little prompt on revenue streams you might want to think about this month, helpful mailing lists to subscribe to, and a list of useful spokespeople, government and helpline references to refer your readers to, or to draw upon yourself.
Coming up this month: November
| Theme/event | Story leads |
| Lead up to Christmas/school holidays | • Christmas markets in the area. • Best places to do your Christmas shopping. • Where you can volunteer over Christmas (local charities etc). • How to celebrate the end of the school year with your kids. • Summer holiday getaways in the region you can plan for. |
| Lead up to Summer | • Feature on bushfire/emergency preparedness • Profile a local SES volunteer |
| International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women November 25 | • Speak to the local services/shelters in your area. • Is enough being done on a funding and/or community level? Make sure to link to LINA’s Helpline document below. |
| International Accounting Day November 10 | • Celebrate your local accounting firms. • Top 10 accounting tips from an accountant (as a sponsored piece). • Profile an accounting business (as a sponsored piece). |
| Industry events | |
| Walkleys November 23 | The Walkley Foundation celebrates and supports great Australian journalism. Hosted in Sydney. |
| AANZCA 2024 Conference November 25 – 28 | The conference theme is ‘Pause’ and invites attendees to consider the benefits of pausing during moments of global crisis and disciplinary change. Hosted in Melbourne. |
Plan for the year ahead
Browse through every month for the upcoming year for events, related article ideas, revenue ideas and industry events.
December 2024
| Event/theme | Story leads |
| Summer holidays | • What to do on a hot day in your area. • Taste testing the best ice creameries in the area. • Activities running at the local pool or park over summer. • Approach local activity centres to sponsor content. Sponsored content from retailers selling air conditioning, fridges ect. |
| Lead-up to Christmas | • Christmas light map using LINA research repository. Check out the DPA CMS Webinar here. |
| New Years Eve 31 December | • Approach local pubs, clubs, restaurants about their New Years Eve offers. • Recipe ideas for NYE parties (sponsored content by local grocery store, restaurant, cafe, bakery). • Top 10 songs to play at your NYE party (sponsored by local music store/bar/entertainment venues) • Approach local gyms/fitness centres to sponsor ‘New Years Resolution’ content. |
| Wrap up of the year | • Timeline the big events that happened in your area over the year, and include achievements your publication has had: you can mock-up a calendar using your free Canva subscription. |
Look ahead to 2025….
January 2025
| Theme/event | Story leads |
| 1 January New Years Day | • Your publications’ New Year’s resolutions. |
| 26 January Invasion Day Australia Day | • What is the Indigenous history in your area? Profile how and when settlers came into your area, which Indigenous peoples were living there before? What are some important Indigenous sites in your area? • Profile your community on what Australia Day means to them: Should it be celebrated? What does it mean for a multicultural Australia? Check out LINA’s shop-talk on Referendum reporting. |
| 29 January Chinese Lunar New Year | • Profile the best Chinese restaurants in your area that readers can visit to celebrate the New Year. |
| 30 January School holidays | • Compile a list of the best local activities for kids, i.e library events, parks, ice creameries • Prepping for back to school season: Where to stock up on stationary, fun snacks for lunch boxes, study spots in your area. |
February 2025
| Theme/event | Story leads |
| Valentine’s Day 14 February | • Interview locals on how they met their partners. • Local date night ideas in your area (galleries, breweries, cinema). • Date night restaurant list. |
| International Day of Women and Girls in Science (UN) 8 February | • Profile local science research initiatives or girls at your local school about what science means to them. |
| Industry event | |
| Media Subscriptions Summit 26 February | The world’s largest event on digital subscriptions for a new era of news media, hosted in New York. You can find the details here. |
March 2025
| Theme/event | Story leads |
| International Women’s Day 8 March | • Profile a female-owned business in your area, or female leaders from your community. • Interview locals about the important women in their lives. • Profile two women about what female friendship means to them. • Profile a community group hosting a Women’s Day related event. |
| First day of Ramadan 11 March | • Profile a selection of Muslim businesses in your community. • Interview some Muslim members of your community about what Ramadan means to them. |
| St Patrick’s Day 17 March | • Profile the best pubs/bars in your area that serve Guinness. |
| Harmony Day 18 March | • Research which nationalities you have represented in your local area, and when the largest ethnic groups migrated to the area. • Compile a list of multicultural restaurants for your readers. |
| Industry event | |
| Media Tech Expo 5 March | Experience the latest technology and industry expertise for media professionals, technologists, and engineers hosted in Sydney. Note: Expo is free, conference is paid. You can find more details here. |
April 2025
| Theme/event | Story leads |
| ANZAC Day 25 April | • Profile any ANZACs/descendants of ANZACs living in your community. • Share details of any dawn services happening in your area. |
| Easter | • Share Easter activities happening in your community, e.g. Church services, Easter egg hunts. • Profile where to buy the best hot cross buns. • Share nearby getaways or staycations your readers might go on over the long weekend. |
| Eid | • Find a local family celebrating the holiday and profile them about what traditions they follow, and what the holiday means to them. |
| Passover | • Find a local family celebrating the holiday and profile them about what traditions they follow, and what the holiday means to them. |
| Daylight savings ends First Sunday of the month | • Cosy weeknight activities for winter (the local cinema, a cosy local restaurant, shops that offer late night shopping). |
| World Veterinary Day 26 April | • Profile your local vet. Have them write a short Do’s and Don’ts for pet care. Get the local pet store/ supply store to sponsor it. |
May 2025
| Theme/event | Story leads |
| Annual Commonwealth Budget Second Tuesday in May | • What the budget means for the people in your area, saving money tips. Speak with community groups, business leaders and any individuals directly impacted by the budget. |
| End of Financial Year | • A day of shopping in the area: where all of the best sales are. |
| Reconciliation week 27 May | • Profile an Indigenous owned business in your area, or in Australia, that has products which can be shipped to your area. • Research and write about the Indigenous history in your area; What languages were spoken? Are there important landmarks nearby that your readers could visit? • Commission an article from an Indigenous freelance writer. • Share what your publication is doing to amplify and support Indigenous voices. |
| Day of the midwife 5 May | • What services does your community have, in relation to pregnancy care? |
| World Password Day First Thursday of the Month | • Contact the local IT services, or computer/electronics stores in your community • ‘Ways to stay safe online’ sponsored content |
| Industry event | |
| Mumbrella 360 | An immersive three-day event, where you’ll gain expert knowledge, network with industry leaders, and experience the future of media and marketing taking flight, hosted in Sydney. More details can be found here. |
| Newswired | A conference for innovators in digital publishing, hosted in London. More details can be found here. |
June 2025
| Theme/event | Story leads |
| Start of winter | • Share a list of activities for a rainy day in your area (cinema, art gallery etc). • A day of op shopping: a list of where they all are. • Arts and crafts ideas, and which shops in the area stock the necessary elements. |
| Christmas in July prep | • Christmas activities available in your area. • Cafes or restaurants offering Christmas specials. • A list of shops that sell gifts. |
| Pride month | • Speak to local services and community groups. • If you’ve already covered issues previously, highlight them to your readers. |
| Global wind day 15 June | • Are there wind farms in or planned for your area? If you’ve done stories previously on wind farms, take this opportunity to highlight them for the community |
| World drug day 26 June | • What drug and alcohol services are in your community? • If this is an issue particularly relevant to your area, consider speaking with local health services and politicians about the issue Check out LINA’s shop-talk with Mindframe on mental health reporting here. |
| Migraine Awareness Month | • Interview your local GP about the struggles that come with having migraines, or people in your community who suffer from migraines, to raise awareness. • Encourage community participation throughout the month through Burple Day and Shades for Migraine Day. You could involve your local optometrist, by compiling their best sunglasses for people with migraines, or a discount code for readers who want to get involved in the day. |
July 2025
| Theme/event | Story leads |
| Winter | • Share a list of activities for a rainy day in your area (could be your local cinema, art gallery, best cafe for a hot chocolate, bookstore etc) |
| NAIDOC week 7 July | • Profile an Indigenous owned business in your area, or in Australia, that has products which can be shipped to your area. • Research and write about the Indigenous history in your area; What languages were spoken? Are there important landmarks nearby that your readers could visit? • Commission an article from an Indigenous freelance writer. • Share what your publication is doing to amplify and support Indigenous voices. |
| Christmas in July | • How to celebrate in your area; Which businesses are taking part? Where can readers go for light shows, lunch or other Christmas in July festivities? |
| Industry events | |
| Kennedy awards July 26 | These awards are hosted in Sydney, with finalists announced in July and the gala presentation hosted in August. They are a national media awards program, and have been running since 2011. |
Open-source website tracking for journalists
Klaxon is a web-based tool that enables reporters, editors and researchers alike to monitor any number of websites for newsworthy changes, including government or corporate sites (think Council websites, MP announcements, donation registers…). It’s designed for monitoring websites for additions, removals or other changes, and can be a helpful tool for finding important public interest stories. Use this guide from LINA’s Technical Manager to set up Klaxon.
Useful contacts and spokespeople
Here we’ve compiled a list of useful contacts for you to reference in related articles. LINA keeps this list as current as possible, however please check links before publication. Let us know if you spot anything out of date so we can update.
The Economic Media Centre can also connect journalists with trusted spokespeople with lived experience. Use their spokesperson network to find an expert available for interviews on a range of social and economic issues.
Helpful mailing lists for publishers to subscribe to
To receive regular updates, alerts and useful media information around local government, it’s worth subscribing to these mailing lists. LINA keeps this list as current as possible, but let us know if there are any that need updating.
| SES: State Emergency Service News/media website page Campaigns website page |
| Medianet News hub site: search for press releases Media movements newsletter: subscribe |
| Bureau of Meteorology Subscribe to receive BOM updates Optional media releases/alerts for journalists |
| Your local council media alerts For information on how to find your local council, check the useful contacts list above. To find their mailing list/media information, try scrolling to the bottom of their website, and finding a headline like ‘media contact’ or ‘news’. If you can’t find anything under your council website, your local MP may have a mailing list on their own website. |
| Victoria Subscribe to the media release mailing list. Subscribe to the parliament e-bulletin. | New South Wales Find media releases and statements here. |
| Queensland Subscribe to your chosen parliamentary service mailing list. | Northern Territory Subscribe to your parliamentary committee mailing list. |
| Australian Capital Territory Find media releases here. | South Australia Find media releases here. |
| Tasmania Find media releases here. | Western Australia Find the latest media statements here. Find the latest government announcements here. |
Check out what other LINA members are doing
Meet the Newsrooms is a LINA podcast series introducing you to Australia’s local and independent digital news publishers. It discusses the most interesting stories editors have published, as well as the creative ways they are generating revenue and maintaining engagement.
