Midterm Review: STUDY!

News value the criteria editors and reporters use to decide what news is fit to print or broadcast

How to Judge News Value Relevance (Does it matter?) Usefulness (Is it important that people know this?) Interest (Who cares?)

Journalists look for these 8 elements, when selecting news stories: Timeliness Impact Conflict Novelty Prominence Proximity Engagement Solutions

Timeliness News is supposed to be new. These days that means instantaneous.

Another journalist beheaded on video posted Tuesday

Weather Channel Boasts Record Ratings, Thanks to Hurricane Sandy; 300 million page views!

Impact How many people are affected? The greater the impact, the better the story.

Hurricane Sandy Pummels East Coast

9/11: New York City attacked!

Conflict

U.S. Military Strikes Iraq

NYC Mayoral Candidates Spar in Final Debate

Nets Blow 19-Point Lead; Fall to Phoenix

What’s the conflict?

Novelty Some events are newsworthy just because they are unusual.

Cat Survives 26 Story Fall

Prominence The bigger the name, the bigger the news

Royal Baby!

Proximity People care about what happens close to home.

Laundry Lounge Opens in Harlem!

West Indian Day Parade

Engagement Sometimes a news report marks the beginning of a conversation—that keeps going.

Police shoot unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri

Strikes a chord, sparks national conversation

Solutions Many news stories discuss problems; the best ones also offer solutions.

News value the criteria editors and reporters use to decide what news is fit to print or broadcast

To recap…Journalists look for these elements, when selecting news stories: Timeliness Impact Conflict Novelty Prominence Proximity Engagement Solutions

Journalists and news outlets use this standard to determine truth and accuracy: V.I.A. V erification I ndependence A ccountability

Verification This is the process that establishes whether something is true and accurate--or not.

President Lisa has been kidnapped in her office—is it true? How do you prove it?

Find more than one good source: Go to the scene—her office. Ask an official from the college to confirm. Check with the police and hospital where she was taken. Interview eyewitnesses. Call her family for comment.

Independence Journalists and news outlets must be free from the control, influence or support of interested parties, coupled with a conscious effort to set aside any pre- existing beliefs and a system of checks and balances.

The rules? You can’t be paid to report a story. At the highest levels, you can’t pay someone to give you the story. You can’t write about your family or friends. You can’t report on a company that you work for, own stock in, have a vested interest in. You can’t go on a trip that a company pays for and then write about the destination.

A journalist or legitimate news outlet must be accountable: Use named sources or have notes and recordings to prove that the reporting is correct. Use bylines so you know who wrote the story. Make corrections if necessary—rather than leave mistakes on the record.

Journalism is…. the practice of investigating and reporting events, issues and trends to the mass audiences of….

….all kinds of media, primarily Books Newspapers Magazines Radio TV Digital media Social and mobile media.

Journalism…. -- Provides citizens with accurate, reliable, impartial information they need to function in a free society. --Is a watchdog to the government, business and other powerful public and private entities. --Offers a forum for public criticism. --Gives a voice to the voiceless.

Public relations is: Creating understanding for or goodwill toward a company, person, product

Advertising is…. Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor.