Story Topic and Angle
In January, Chinese Ministry of Education abruptly announced that it would no longer recognize overseas distance courses, forcing a larger number of Chinese students to return to Australian campuses, but the arrival of more than 40,000 Chinese students further stimulated the already tough Australia’s rental market. Especially Sydney, as one of the cities with the largest number of international students, has taken on greater housing pressure. On the one hand, the vacancy rate has reached a new low, and the competition for rental housing has become particularly fierce, on the other hand, rental prices have soared under people’s urgent needs, making it difficult for most international students to afford.
With this in mind, I plan to write a feature story to reveal the rental dilemma faced by international students in Sydney. I will interview an international student who has experienced the challenge of renting, using his story as a clue to understanding the real situation and the psychological burden it has placed on international students. There also calls for universities to help international students, and the government should take some action as soon as possible to intervene in outrageous rental prices.
Newsworthiness
- Timeliness: This is an issue that is happening now.
- Proximity: Occurs locally.
- Impact: This is relevant to a wide range of readers, not only international students, who are an important part of Sydney’s economy and education， but also many citizens who have been affected by the housing crisis.
- Currency: The rental crisis is a social concern for the public.
- Human Interest: Some people wonder what exactly is the impact on international students and how serious it is.
Publication and Target Audience
I intend to publish this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, which is a long-established and prestigious local publication. Its online news site also has a strong digital presence, with a wide readership and high reading in Australia, covering high-quality coverage of various topics such as politics, business, and education. It’s the best fit for my story topic and audience.
The target audience for this article is mainly the general public living in Sydney, especially those who are concerned about the rental market and international students. For example, international students themselves and those who want to rent housing, also include university staff and relevant government organizations.
Source of Information
- Interviewees:
International students who have experienced housing difficulties
The staff of real estate agency
University staff
- Announcement by the Chinese Ministry of Education.
- Relevant news reports, providing more information and data, such as Sydney where rents have soared the most, Sydney students marched to protest that rents are too expensive.
- A real estate website Domain, helps readers find out more detailed information about changes in Sydney’s vacancy rate.
- Property analysis firm SQM Research, shows an upward trend in Sydney rental prices.
Multimedia, Hypertext, and Interactivity
- Add hyperlinks in the text to provide more information.
- Images relevant to the content, such as the home and the scene where the interviewee is looking for a house.
- Data charts and maps to help illustrate.
- Twitter posts, such as
From a facebook post.
Is this innovation a result of rental crisis in Sydney?#rental #HousingCrisis #housingmarket pic.twitter.com/6bOkVIcAoE
— Sophia Rodrigues (@CentralbkIntel) April 15, 2023
Rally to demand action on the rental crisis TODAY @ Sydney Town Hall!
Sadly I can no longer chair the rally as police have placed strict bail conditions on me that stifle my activism. I’ll write a statement for the chair to read & hopefully the protest gets some numbers! pic.twitter.com/q4UDPMJI4k
— Cherish Kuehlmann (@__cherishk) February 23, 2023
- The Article can be shared across multiple platforms and I will provide my contact information for reader feedback.
Hi Yue Yang, it is an amazing post and I really enjoy reading it! I like your topic, which is closely related to our overseas students. Your pitch is clear, categorised and formatted neatly. The article properly uses hyperlinks, pictures, embedded links and so on to enrich the readability of the article. Maybe making a short video of students looking for apartments or interviewing overseas students into multimedia content will make the news more interesting! In many news about international student rental, it is also worth thinking about how to catch the audience’s eye from the Angle and content. I’m sure you’ll do a great job! Looking forward to reading your work. Good luck.