Take a national/international story and make it local Example: National: Growing amount of debt for 20somethings Local: What do PSU students due to keep debt under control
Look at your story topic and view it through the perspective of different population groups. (i.e. by gender, race, class, age, political or religious affiliation, etc...) Example: How high school seniors (vs. the administrators of the state dept. of education) view standardized testing for high school graduation requirements.
Take a news story idea and view it through different aspects (Tip: look at the variety of news sections listed on the CNN.com web page - U.S., Technology, Law, etc...). Example: Original Idea: Wind Power Perspective 1: How does the technology work and how efficient is is really? Perspective 2: What are the zoning laws and how are communities facing this issue? Perspective 3: What is the economic impact of wind power for local residential users?
Seasonal issues come around every year and bring with them possible news stories or angles. Example: News Years (Resolutions); Valentines (Relationships); St. Patrick's (Drinking); Tax Day (Money); Spring (Mud and Black Flies); etc... Other seasonal occurrences: Elections, government budgets; crops; car shows; etc...