How do I install the Story Pitch Planner skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add emaduneme/story-pitch-planner in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Story Pitch Planner safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: docs only. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Story Pitch Planner?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Story Pitch Planner free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Story Pitch Planner?

emaduneme (@emaduneme) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Story Pitch Planner by emaduneme — Agent Skill

Name: Story Pitch Planner
Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Author: emaduneme

Story Pitch Planner

Helps journalists develop, evaluate, and track story pitches. Use this skill whenever a journalist or student asks to pitch a story, develop an angle, find a news hook, check if a story has already been covered, brainstorm story ideas from a topic or beat, assess newsworthiness, or plan resource requirements for a story. Also trigger for requests like "help me pitch this to my editor", "what angle should I take on X", "has this been covered", "generate story ideas about Y", or "is this newsworthy". Coordinates web search (for existing coverage), AI angle analysis, and a local story tracker (to prevent duplicate assignments).

emaduneme Updated Sep 22, 2026

File contents

Story Pitching & Planning Skill

What this skill does

Helps journalists and students:

Develop strong, differentiated angles on a topic
Evaluate newsworthiness using the 5 news values
Check existing coverage to avoid duplication
Estimate resource requirements (time, sources, data needs)
Track active story assignments to prevent overlap

Workflow

Step 1 — Clarify the request

Ask (if not already clear):

Topic/beat: What is the story about?
Audience: Who is the outlet serving?
Mode: (a) developing a new angle, (b) evaluating an existing pitch, or (c) checking for duplicate coverage?

Step 2 — Check existing coverage

Use web_search with: [topic] news [current month/year] AND [topic] investigation OR report

Look for:

Stories published in the past 30-90 days
Similar angles taken by competitors
Investigations already completed

Summarize the gap — what has NOT been done? That is the pitch space.

Step 3 — Develop or evaluate the angle

For new angles, apply the ANGLE MATRIX:

Dimension	Questions
Who is harmed or helped?	Are they underrepresented?
What changed recently?	New law, data, event, study?
What is the proximity hook?	How does this affect the specific audience?
What is the accountability or solutions frame?	Who is responsible? What can change?
What data can anchor this?	Is there a document, dataset, or record?

Generate 3 distinct angles: (1) hard news, (2) feature/human angle, (3) data/accountability.

For pitch evaluation, score:

Timeliness     (1-5): Is there a news peg right now?
Proximity      (1-5): Does it affect the target audience directly?
Impact         (1-5): How many people affected, and how severely?
Novelty        (1-5): Has this specific angle been published?
Feasibility    (1-5): Can it be reported in the available timeframe?
TOTAL          /25

20+ = strong pitch. 15-19 = viable with refinement. Below 15 = rethink the angle.

Step 4 — Resource planning

Estimate for the editor:

Sources needed: e.g., 2 on-record, 1 data source, 1 expert
Time estimate: Breaking (same day) / Short-turn (3-5 days) / Feature (2-4 weeks) / Investigation (1-3 months)
Data/documents: FOIA requests, public records, datasets
Obstacles: source access, embargoes, legal sensitivity

Step 5 — Log to story tracker

Run the tracker to check for and log active assignments:

python scripts/story_tracker.py --action check --topic "TOPIC" --angle "ANGLE"
python scripts/story_tracker.py --action add --reporter "NAME" --topic "TOPIC" --angle "ANGLE" --deadline "DATE"
python scripts/story_tracker.py --action list

Step 6 — Draft the pitch

STORY PITCH

Headline (working): [One-line, present tense]
Angle: [One sentence — what makes this different from existing coverage]
News peg: [Why now?]
Impact: [Who is affected and how]
Key sources: [3-5 source types]
Resource needs: [Time, travel, data access]
Newsworthiness score: [X/25]

Python Scripts

scripts/story_tracker.py

Manages a local JSON-based assignment log to prevent duplicate angle coverage.

scripts/coverage_checker.py

Runs structured web searches and returns a summary of what has already been reported on a topic.

Read the scripts for full usage — they are self-documenting via --help.

Notes for the AI

Always search the web before declaring a topic "uncovered" — training data is not current
When generating angles, always produce all 3 types (hard news, feature, data/accountability)
Flag stories with legal sensitivity proactively (defamation, privacy, court orders)
Consider solutions journalism framing as a fourth angle when relevant
Be specific about source types, not generic ("local health official" not just "expert")

---name: story-pitch-plannerdescription: Helps journalists develop, evaluate, and track story pitches. Use this skill whenever a journalist or student asks to pitch a story, develop an angle, find a news hook, check if a story has already been covered, brainstorm story ideas from a topic or beat, assess newsworthiness, or plan resource requirements for a story. Also trigger for requests like "help me pitch this to my editor", "what angle should I take on X", "has this been covered", "generate story ideas about Y", or "is this newsworthy". Coordinates web search (for existing coverage), AI angle analysis, and a local story tracker (to prevent duplicate assignments).---# Story Pitching & Planning Skill## What this skill doesHelps journalists and students:1. Develop strong, differentiated angles on a topic2. Evaluate newsworthiness using the 5 news values3. Check existing coverage to avoid duplication4. Estimate resource requirements (time, sources, data needs)5. Track active story assignments to prevent overlap---## Workflow### Step 1 — Clarify the requestAsk (if not already clear):- **Topic/beat**: What is the story about?- **Audience**: Who is the outlet serving?- **Mode**: (a) developing a new angle, (b) evaluating an existing pitch, or (c) checking for duplicate coverage?### Step 2 — Check existing coverageUse web_search with: `[topic] news [current month/year]` AND `[topic] investigation OR report`Look for:- Stories published in the past 30-90 days- Similar angles taken by competitors- Investigations already completedSummarize the gap — what has NOT been done? That is the pitch space.### Step 3 — Develop or evaluate the angle**For new angles**, apply the ANGLE MATRIX:| Dimension | Questions ||-----------|-----------|| Who is harmed or helped? | Are they underrepresented? || What changed recently? | New law, data, event, study? || What is the proximity hook? | How does this affect the specific audience? || What is the accountability or solutions frame? | Who is responsible? What can change? || What data can anchor this? | Is there a document, dataset, or record? |Generate 3 distinct angles: (1) hard news, (2) feature/human angle, (3) data/accountability.**For pitch evaluation**, score:```Timeliness (1-5): Is there a news peg right now?Proximity (1-5): Does it affect the target audience directly?Impact (1-5): How many people affected, and how severely?Novelty (1-5): Has this specific angle been published?Feasibility (1-5): Can it be reported in the available timeframe?TOTAL /25```20+ = strong pitch. 15-19 = viable with refinement. Below 15 = rethink the angle.### Step 4 — Resource planningEstimate for the editor:- **Sources needed**: e.g., 2 on-record, 1 data source, 1 expert- **Time estimate**: Breaking (same day) / Short-turn (3-5 days) / Feature (2-4 weeks) / Investigation (1-3 months)- **Data/documents**: FOIA requests, public records, datasets- **Obstacles**: source access, embargoes, legal sensitivity### Step 5 — Log to story trackerRun the tracker to check for and log active assignments:```bashpython scripts/story_tracker.py --action check --topic "TOPIC" --angle "ANGLE"python scripts/story_tracker.py --action add --reporter "NAME" --topic "TOPIC" --angle "ANGLE" --deadline "DATE"python scripts/story_tracker.py --action list```### Step 6 — Draft the pitch```STORY PITCHHeadline (working): [One-line, present tense]Angle: [One sentence — what makes this different from existing coverage]News peg: [Why now?]Impact: [Who is affected and how]Key sources: [3-5 source types]Resource needs: [Time, travel, data access]Newsworthiness score: [X/25]```---## Python Scripts### scripts/story_tracker.pyManages a local JSON-based assignment log to prevent duplicate angle coverage.### scripts/coverage_checker.pyRuns structured web searches and returns a summary of what has already been reported on a topic.Read the scripts for full usage — they are self-documenting via --help.---## Notes for the AI- Always search the web before declaring a topic "uncovered" — training data is not current- When generating angles, always produce all 3 types (hard news, feature, data/accountability)- Flag stories with legal sensitivity proactively (defamation, privacy, court orders)- Consider solutions journalism framing as a fourth angle when relevant- Be specific about source types, not generic ("local health official" not just "expert")

Frequently asked questions