Defining News

What is news? Hard to define … relates to: Something new, unexpected, immediate, exciting, important and interesting Something that can affect readers Yes, but these are relative concepts!

What is considered newsworthy? There are no rules, but some principles apply: Timing of event Geography Extraordinary quality of event Magnitude of consequences for individuals in the community Relation to some celebs life Pathos, drama Seasonal events (e.g., end-of-the-school-year exams) Events following news that has generated interest

Timeliness Recent events, or events in the making, are most likely to lead the news What is news today may not be news tomorrow Example: A bank raid can be big news today. But it will probably not be important enough to mention tomorrow, unless there are major new developments

Location An event occurring close to home will be newsworthy to local people e.g. news of heavy traffic on major coastal highways Even major stories of international relevance are given, when possible, a local angle e.g. news of plane crashes, earthquakes, etc., reported if one or more of the victims were local, or used to be local Compare different paper headlines on any given day

San Jose Mercury News Nov. 29, 2012 Anticipated storm turns into a sprinkle U.S. may step up its role in Syria Rail plan: $175 million for 215 passengers Newspaper front page headlines on the same day Calgary Herald Nov. 29, 2012 The Sydney Morning Herald Nov. 29, 2012 Poverty takes a human toll Premier under fire over contract Front-row seat on suffering shows how charity helps Letter contradicts PM Not guilty of murder – after 65 years Jackson Landing A new urban utopia

Topic Events are considered newsworthy when: They are extraordinary e.g. unpredictable events like natural disasters, accidents, or crimes They affect a lot of people e.g. global warming issues have become big news in recent years because environmental changes affect the entire planet

Familiarity Stories about individuals well known to the audience, like politicians, entertainers and athletes, are considered newsworthy, by virtue of the individuals status e.g. the particular outfit worn by celeb Will Smith at Tom Cruises wedding may be of interest to some of the readership. The outfit of a non-celeb at the same wedding is not news

Pictures Add vividness and realism to the story Increase the story impact Contribute to dramatizing a story, presenting an angle, creating a protagonist Good pictures: tell the story capture emotions get faces focus on people avoid inanimate objects

Pathos, drama Tragic and dramatic events, like deaths or misfortunes, commonly elicit feelings of pity, sorrow, sympathy and compassion, and draw the readers attention Examples : The child left alone when his parents die in a car crash The man who kills his wife and her lover Animals that have been brutally shot

Seasonal and trendy topics Also newsworthy are topics that are: Of general interest e.g. national elections, the death of a prime minister Seasonal e.g. traffic before big holidays, end-of-school-year exams, new trends during the summer season Truly extraordinary e.g. the discovery of an ancient treasure, the fattest man on earth

Objectivity in news Journalism code of ethics defined by the principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality and fairness in news reporting But can journalists be truly fair and balanced? Objectivity is conditioned by: Language Audience Technology

Language Objectivity is not a science: it is the result of stylistic choices Language is a social construct and cannot be neutral Lexical and grammatical choices reflect ideology and personal preferences The interpretation of the message depends on the individual

Audience Journalists select, order and interpretnews on the basis of their perception of the audiences values and preferences conveying information shaping information

Technology Determines not only how stories are covered, but what stories are covered News selected on the basis of available videos or images Alteration (through cropping or digital manipulation) of material may distort news presentation … thus suggesting a particular approach to the story

Hard news and soft news Hard news: recent events reported with a factual approach e.g., crimes, wars, disasters, politics or economics Breaking news: unexpected events that need to be covered as quickly as possible e.g., plane crashes, major earthquakes, catastrophes Soft news (also called features): news that aims to entertain or advise e.g., focus on human interest: arts, entertainment, sports, lifestyles and celebrities