NEWSWORTHINESS
The concepts that make the news news
Newsworthiness
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What information is important?
Some facts are worth covering for one school or
town, but not in another.
Some facts are newsworthy today, but not
tomorrow.
Does this news affect your readers?
9 News Values
Timeliness
•Impact
•Prominence
•Proximity
•Conflict
•The Unusual
•Currency
•Necessity
•Human Interest
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Timeliness
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Events that are immediate, recent.
If something is happening NOW, it has more impact
than something that happened last week.
This is usually the most important news element.
Example: A snowstorm shutting down most of the town
would be important when it happens.
“Everything will be less interesting tomorrow than today”
Impact
Example: New
curfew
implemented
for Van Buren
residents.
Roadway
construction
during
homecoming
week.
Scientific
breakthrough.
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Events that are likely to affect many
people.
The bigger the event, the bigger the
story.
Major consequences = major news
Prominence
Example: If
the student
body president
is involved in a
rescue
operation, it is
interesting just
because of
who it is.
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Events involving well-known people
or institutions.
How well-known are the
people/places in your story?
Powerful people are more
important than ordinary people.
Prominence Con’t.
Newsworthy
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President Obama
choking on a pretzel.
Van Buren competing
in State Championship
football game.
Justin Bieber proposes
to fan.
Not Newsworthy
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Mrs. Inbody choking
on a pretzel.
Centerburg competing
in State Championship
football game.
Taylor Hanson
proposes to fan.
Proximity
Example:
Forever 21
will be coming
to the Findlay
Village Mall
in Spring of
2013.
Blanchard
River to be
rerouted to
reduce
flooding.
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Events that are geographically or
emotionally close to people interest
them.
This includes events and individuals
(religious, ethical, racial).
Conflict
Examples:
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Conflict in
Iraq.
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November
election.
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Friday night
football.
Strife, antagonism, warfare.
Conflict provides an element of drama,
turmoil, saga.
Provides a forum for discussion and
debate.
The Unusual
Examples:
House cat
cleans house!
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A 165 pound
watermelon.
Cloud shaped
like United
States of
America.
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Events that deviate sharply from the
expected, departing considerably
from the experiences of everyday
life.
If something is unusual, the oddity
alone can make it newsworthy.
Readers want to know how/why it
happened.
Currency
Example:
Results of a
12-year stem
cell research
study.
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Government’s
deficit
spending.
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Army Corps
of Engineers
research on
the Blanchard
River.
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Long-time situation may reemerge as
news. Issues with longevity.
“War on Poverty”
Equal Rights
Same-sex marriage
Necessity
Example:
Teachers revise
grades to
maintain
football
players’
eligibility.
Non-fat yogurt
not really nonfat!
http://yadaya
dayadaecon.co
m/clip/46/
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Journalist has discovered something
he/she feels necessary to disclose.
Journalism of conscience, something
every should know about.
Human Interest
Example:
Reading how a
student has
overcome a
handicap can
be interesting.
Survivor
stories.
Olympic Bios.
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A story that evokes emotion while
reading it contains human interest.
“Warm and fuzzy” feeling.
9 News Elements
Although there are nine news elements, most
stories are made up of more than one element.
What elements are present in the following
situations?
9 News Elements
Terrorists in Lima hold 200 people hostage.
9 News Elements
A whale swims the wrong way in a channel and
is trapped. The nation is captivated by its
struggle.
9 News Elements
Tomorrow is the first day of spring.
9 News Elements
A whale swims the wrong way in a channel and
is trapped. The nation is captivated by its
struggle.
9 News Elements
A former president of the United States dies.
9 News Elements
A man bumps his head, recovers from amnesia,
and returns to the wife he left fifteen years
earlier.
9 News Elements
The local high school basketball team wins their
first state championship.
9 News Elements
A lost cat returns home safely.
9 News Elements
An Academy Award-winning actress sues her
husband for divorce.
9 News Elements
A girl of seven is enrolled in a high-school math
class.