A trend is a social or economic phenomenon with quantifiable dimensions such as growth or decline , acceleration or slowing, increase or decrease

Some trends may be dangerous or controversial while others are positive or even humorous

Most trend stories can start with anecdotes or some statistics – adoption rate of children in India on the increase

Or even a friend who is having a problem !!!!!!!Seema Narendran, Ramnarain Ruia College 2

Trend stories need to look at the magnitude (how many, how much, how often)

Location (the countries or the places affected)Diversity (which groups of people are affected)Intensity (to what degree or extent they are

affected)

When looking a trend, one needs to focus on the people in favour and against, people it helps or hurts, people who may be unaffected but will have definite reactions to it

Anecdotes bring a story to life but statistics add credibility

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A trend story describes a series of events and traces them to a common cause or causes.

The key to reporting and writing a trend story is understanding the cause-and-effect relationships in the subject area, and being able to describe them clearly for readers. Most trend stories focus on one link in an extensive chain of cause and effect.

Time magazine's famous 1966 cover, a black background with the red words "Is God Dead?" was a turning point in trend stories.

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Trend stories don't usually call themselves trend stories, but the identifying features are unmistakable. They employ headlines with the words "new" and "next," sometimes followed by markers like "generation" or new monikers for populations ("tweens," "twixters," "boomers," "lipstick lesbians," "metrosexuals," etc.).

Studies are cited but anecdotes are relied upon to validate findings. Stock phrases like "a sense of" with modifiers like "many," "most," "few," and, especially, "increasing" or "decreasing" are scattered liberally.

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Celebrity examples of a trend -- e.g. older women younger men marrying, celebrity examples

Women opting to be stay at home mom’sThe nuisance of cell phones in public spaces

or lack of ‘phone eiquette’

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Asking yourself a series of questions can help focus the story:

 1.Where does the story lie? Is it the trend?

The causes of the trend? Or the consequences of the trend?

 Regardless of where you choose to focus the

story, you must keep the readers aware of where this trend lies in the chain of cause and effect. In short, tell them what is causing the trend and make sure they are aware of what the possible implications might be.

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Do you have specific examples that demonstrate how and why this trend is occurring?

Do you have an expert or experts to give an overview of the subject area?

 Besides individuals directly affected by or

involved with the subject, you will need to interview someone with an overview, a neutral expert who is knowledgeable about the subject.

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Every trend story has a certain direction, this depends on several factors:

The nature of the audience you are writingWhat's already been written about it?Which questions remain unanswered?Which experts or affected persons you have

access to?Any other primary source information

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