Think about the last story you read or saw on the news. If it was a “big” story, it’s likely you saw it in multiple locations.
You know this information because someone, somewhere decided it was news and others followed suit. It became the news of the day.
As Maxell McCombs and Donald Shaw claimed in 1972 in their well-known agenda setting theory, the media may not tell us what to think, but they tell us what to think about.
A journalist determined that the news item you saw was newsworthy, so it was. To some extent, news is whatever reporters and/or editors identify as having value.
Determining News Value
Although it may sound arbitrary, journalists have a systematic approach to determining news value.
The single most important attribute of news is that it is new information.
News is the absolute newest thing you can tell someone. You want to provide the news in a timely manner that allows the public to get involved. This is the role of information in a democratic society; to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing. It is what I personally view as the news media’s overwhelming purpose.
When it comes to news, yesterday’s news is done. It’s at the bottom of the birdcage or in the recycling bin. Your readers don’t care what happened in the past. They only want to know what’s happening now. In today’s fast-paced news environment, we have come to expect news to be reported online literally as it is happening.
Aside from being current, news also must fit these three criteria:
1. Relevance
How does the information apply to the viewer or reader? If the information is not applicable to the reader, it lacks news value.
2. Usefulness
How can audience members use this information in their day-to-day lives? If the news is useful to the audience, you don’t have to convince them to read it or watch it. In other words, the “What’s In It for Me?” question is addressed or implied.
3. Interest
Does the audience care? This should not be confused with whether the journalist cares. Journalists write plenty of stories about things they don’t care about at all. But the news must be deemed as interesting to the audience or it will be ignored.
Other factors that determine news value:
Impact
How many people are affected and how seriously? The greater the impact of an event, the more likely it will receive wide scale and prominent coverage.
For example, the upcoming 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The event impacted many people and changed our nation. Therefore, it will receive a large amount of coverage.
Conflict
Is there an issue? News is when things turn out differently than expected, when systems fail or business errs. When people make mistakes that impact others.
Journalists should not create issues where they don’t exist. Journalists also should not ignore issues where they’re obviously present.
Novelty
Things that are unusual or bizarre are inherently newsworthy.
For example, I once read a story about a man who broke into women’s homes while they were showering and stole their shoes. When police caught him, he had hundreds of pairs of women’s shoes hidden in his home. I’ll never forget that crazy story.
Prominence
We don’t know why we care about the lives of prominent people like musicians, movie stars and politicians, but we do.
Proximity
We are more interested in news that occurs close to our home.
For example, you are more likely to pay attention to a story about a teacher shortage in your children’s school district than a story about the same issue in another state. You’re more interested about a water problem in your neighborhood than you are on the other side of town.
News that happens close to our home impacts and interests us.
Secrecy
News is about whatever people want to hide. There’s a reason they want to hide it. That reason probably impacts others.
The many ways in which an item may be identified as having news value means nearly any subject with an affect or effect can be newsworthy. There are literally millions of stories to report each day, it is up to the journalists to determine which ones should be covered and how.
Journalists must understand that there is always something to report. It’s a lazy reporter who doesn’t bother developing these ideas.
Well, Professor, I beg to disagree. First, most “journalists” are no journalists that Edward R. Murrow or anyone pre-sixties would recognize. Too many choose what to cover by their political bias and agenda. Many news organizations ignore IMPORTANT news because it doesn’t fit that agenda. I, for one, am sooooo grateful for the Internet so I’m not dependent on these pundits which is a much better name for contemporary news people – especially in msm!
I think someone’s definition what is newsworthy is an individual ideal. We each make the judgment for ourselves what we think is necessary for others to read. That judgment is cultivated by each of our upbringings and current lifestyles and environments.
I don’t necessarily think that because something is kept a secret that it is newsworthy. I also think that the person who is keeping the secret is a bigger piece of the puzzle.
I wouldn’t say that a reporter who doesn’t have a developed idea of what to report on is “lazy.” I think a large portion of how we discover news is based on our connections and having the means to scout out information. Laziness, to me, denotes that someone is not passionate about their work, and I don’t think anyone who can truthfully refer to themselves as a journalist should be deemed lazy.
Also, I think he should be referred to as Chaz Bono.
As a journalist, it is important for you not to consider news from your own personal perspective. Instead, you must think about what others find newsworthy. Just because it’s not news to you, doesn’t mean it’s not to someone else. I agree that what a person reads is specific to that individual’s preferences, but what is reported should be much broader.
News is whatever officials or those in power don’t want people to know. There is a reason that people keep things secret. Typically it’s because of some kind of wrong doing. As a watchdog for the public, it’s the journalists’ job to determine what the secret is and why it’s a secret, then they can determine if it’s worthy of coverage.
It is part of a reporter’s job to develop and pitch story ideas. Therefore, not doing so is not fulfilling that professional role. Not completing your professional obligations because you’re sitting behind a computer is lazy in my mind.
Ah… Chaz. Yes, my fault. I will make this correction. I went with what I had heard the majority of my life. I should have given this greater consideration. Thanks for pointing it out!
I appreciate your thoughtful response, Nathan. Healthy discussion is important, even when there are times that we don’t agree.
I agree with you, Kenna. But I think some news organizations force newsworthiness onto stories, especially imitator networks that only focus on prominence, such as E! News or TMZ. I understand entertainment is the sole purpose of those networks, but the stories are often sensationalized, when they’re actually very dull. It’s a lesser quality of journalism, in my opinion.
Many news organizations seem to base newsworthiness on their political agenda. My thoughts on this closely align with what Bruce said. I try to substitute the blatant bias presented by networks like Fox News and CNN by reading The Times and NPR, but those organizations are also partial to a liberal agenda. It’s difficult to find a purely objective newspaper.
Oh, and I agree with Nathan. Since the sex change, I think Chastity definitely prefers to be called Chaz.
The slant that many news organizations present is based on a consumer model of journalism. In other words, they determine a market niche and provide that type of reporting, fulfilling an information desire and creating an income stream. What do you think about this approach?
By the way, I often think that the media are viewed as liberal because they report on all sides of the story. This makes it appear that they embrace all of those viewpoints. That’s just a “Kenna theory.”
Thanks for pointing out the Chaz thing. I honestly didn’t even think about it.
Excellent article, Kenna! I write a lot of press releases for my company and am always trying to think journalistically. This is definitely one I’ll refer back to!
douglaserice I’m glad you are finding value here, Doug. How is the new job going?
profkrg douglaserice Awesome! Learning the ropes. Thanks for asking!
douglaserice I’m glad to read that. I’ve been wondering. It’s always exciting and hectic to start a new job.
Talking about the same thing over the next two days in multimedia class.
Talking about the same thing over the next two days in multimedia class.
profkrg I had a tough time teaching my students about this.