Deciding What is News

1
Deciding What is News
2
What is news?

• Easy to define in the past
• Equaled events
• Now is more in-depth coverage and analysis of
  major issues as well as events
• Shifting attitudes and demographics a facelift
  for the news in the last few decades
• News now covers a wider range of topics

3
Change in Direction

• Serious news traded for more colorful, upbeat
  journalism by some such as USA Today
• Declining literacy, loss of young readers, and a
  mobile society led to this change
• Economics has caused papers to compromise
• More news going on Internet

4
Where We Are Now

• News still needs to emphasize the government
• Events still covered, but many new additions
• Lifestyles of rich and famous, fashion, health,
  arts, leisure, exercise, recreation, and
  nutrition are some of the topics covered now
  because of the new demographics

5
News Judgment

• Journalists must evaluate what is out there and
  select stories that will interest, inform,
  educate and amuse the audience
• Must balance what the audience wants and what it
  needs
• Use new judgment to decide what story to cover
  out of multiple choices and how to cover it
  (which angle to take)

6
Who Cares?

• Journalists ask themselves Who cares? to decide
  if something is newsworthy
• If they can honestly say that the story, person,
  or event is important to an audience than they
  have news

7
You Choose

• A) The mayor signs a proclamation designating
  next week as Clean-up, Paint-up, Fix-up Week
• B) The mayor announces an investigation into the
  disappearance of 750,000 from the citys general
  fund.
• Who cares about these stories? Are they news?
• Which should go on the front page?

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Elements of News

• Timeliness/Immediacy
• Relates to the newness of the facts
• The element that makes a story about the
  evolution of the Christmas tree more interesting
  in December than April
• Ask yourself, Is this story new? Is this the
  best time to interest people in this story?

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Elements of News

• Proximity -
• Refers to the nearness of an event to your place
  of publication
• Events occurring in your town generally have more
  news value than those happening half way across
  the world
• Remember, people like to read about things they
  are familiar with

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Elements of News

• Prominence
• Refers to the newsworthiness of an individual
• Example Julia Roberts gets married newsworthy
  I get married not newsworthy
• People interested in people they are familiar
  with

11
Elements of News

• Consequence/Impact -
• Refers to the importance of an event
• Example If you flunk a math test not news The
  star quarterback flunks the math test and
  therefore cannot play in the play-offs and
  therefore the team may lose CIF news
• More people interested in the football game, and
  therefore the QBs grades, than they are in your
  personal life

12
Elements of News

• The CA state Senate passes a bill to expand all
  freeways in the state by two lanes
• This news may take place in Sacramento. but it
  has consequence for you here in LA

13
Elements of News

• Emotions
• Stories that cover what humans are generally
  interested in
• Cause readers to laugh, cry, feel sorrow, pity or
  amazement (feel emotion in general)
• Should tickle the funny bone or evoke feelings or
  pity, sorrow, or amazement

14
Elements of News

• Novelty -
• Unusual stories
• Example A fifteen-year-old genius graduates from
  college with honors
• Shortest basketball player
• Youngest teacher
• Oldest custodian

15
Elements of News

• Conflict -
• Involves tension, surprise and suspense
• Eg. a divorce, a sports game, a strike
• Other Factors
• Progress, money, disaster, novelty, oddity,
  drama, and so on
• No easy rule for what is news have to figure it
  out yourself with practice

16
News Arithmetic

• 1 ordinary person 1 ordinary life 0
• 1 ordinary person 1 extraordinary adventure
  News
• 1 husband 1 wife 0
• 1 husband 3 wives News
• 1 person 1 achievement news
• 1 ordinary person 1 ordinary life of 79 years
  0
• 1 ordinary person 1 ordinary life of 100 years
  News

From Editing the Days News by George Bastian and
Leland Case