What editors consider

Elements of
News

Slide 1

Newsworthy
Noteworthy as news
Topical
Having value as news

Slide 2

Deciding whats news

Discuss with persons at your table
how editors decide what stories to
run.
List top three criteria your table
believes is important in deciding
which items make something
newsworthy.

Slide 3

Elements of News
Criteria for deciding whats news

a)Timeliness
b)Prominence
c)Consequence
d)Proximity
Slide 4

e)Change / Progress /
Action

Elements of News
Criteria for deciding whats news

f)Concreteness / Impact
g)Personality / Human
Interest
h)Rarity / Singularity
(uniqueness)
Slide 5

i)Conflict

a) Timeliness
Something that just happened is
newsier than something that
happened a while ago
Key on the latest development, not
the original incident
Its new, otherwise, wed call it
olds
Slide 6

b) Prominence
Celebrity, politician
A famous person
This does not refer to groups
A story about a teacher is not
necessarily newsworthy just
because teachers occupy a
prominent place in society
Slide 7

c) Consequence
Importance of the event.
The number of people will/did it
affect.
Less consequence when affecting
fewer people.
Ask yourself how many people will
be affected.
Slide 8

d) Proximity
Local angle*
How to define?
In some cases, local; in other cases
the whole state, region or country
Think about a bull's eye, closer to
center higher the score
Just because something happened
nearby doesnt mean its
newsworthy

Slide 9

e) Change / Progress /
Action
When there is a new or different
way to do something
An advancement

Slide 10

f) Concreteness / Impact
Real, not theoretical*
World could end tomorrow
Death is the ultimate impact
Numbers also matter (how
many)
*in theory only, not tangible
Slide 11

g) Personality / Human
Interest
Anything that appeals to the
readers emotions
Makes him laugh, cry, get angry,
feel sympathy, etc.has the
potential for human interest.

Slide 12

h) Rarity/Singularity
(uniqueness)
An unusual,
unusual strange occurrence
May have never happened before
The strange or unusual is
fascinating to many readers.
Related to Personality/Human
Interest
Slide 13

i) Conflict
Ranges from policy disputes
(politics)
To sports rivalries
To shooting wars
Any time there is a struggle

Slide 14

Always a balancing act

Stories having more elements of
news have stronger
newsworthiness
But there are gradations within
each category
Bigger & smaller celebrities; bigger
& smaller impacts; bigger &
smaller conflicts
Slide 15

Who are our readers?

Local paper
Traditional values
Homogeneous* vs.
heterogeneous*
Sports/outdoors

Slide 16

*Same mix throughout

*Different throughout

Three goals of journalism

Inform
Educate
Entertain
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