Finding a niche angle on a national (or in this case, international) story — That’s what MTV did. The story started wth Rowling’s birthday but then focused on Jarvis Cocker, a musician who is an actor in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”

The lesson is that media students can use dates and events to provide the time hook for a story with a niche focus. In helping my media writing students move a feature story written for class to a published article, I encourage them to look for potential news hook — so to check for any special dates (from National Spring Cleaning Week to National Children’s Dental Health Month).