Traditional
criteria of news value are those journalists use to decide which sets of facts
make up news stories and which stories are more newsworthy than others.
Traditional
criteria of news value are those journalists use to decide which sets of facts
make up news stories and which stories are more newsworthy than others.
Click here for State of the News Media in 2005
Audience
No two are alike. So, you will need to consider the demographics and psychographics of your readers, listeners or viewers to determine interests. San Antonio audience for either print or broadcast is a distinctive audience: Hispanic, Roman Catholic, military, retirees, military retirees, students, water issues, tourism, proximity to Mexico.
These considerations also must be made in the context of the day. The expression "a slow news day" has meaning. Or, if multiple important events occur on the same day, priorities must be set as to the coverage.
Impact
Numbers of people affected and how seriously it affects them. Also called magnitude and/or consequence.
Proximity
Nearness
Usually the event is bigger if it happens locally than if it happened miles away.
Timeliness
Today's news is stale tomorrow unless you update it with new information. Then, it has timeliness again. This is often an element to commemorate an anniversary of a newsworthy event such as the assassination of JFK, 9-11 or the recollections of D-Day. Recently Jessica McClure married. That's not news unless you know this: On Oct. 14, 1987, at age 18 months Baby Jessica fell into a well in Midland, Texas, and was the central news story the world over as rescuers worked feverishly for three days before she was safely retrieved from the well.
Also, when she graduated, this story: She held the attention of the nation and the world as a toddler 17 years ago after she fell into an abandoned well. Crews struggled for 58 hours to rescue 18-month-old Jessica McClure from the eight-inch-wide pipe. On Friday night she became a high-school graduate. The 18-year-old Midland-area girl joined 113 other seniors from Greenwood High School near Midland in receiving their diplomas. .
Prominence
Celebrities, politicians, important people. A president's children suddenly become newsworthy upon the election of their father. Consider the Saving Pvt. Lynch and The West Virginia Miners.
Novelty (Oddity or unusualness)
These are often short, snappy little stories that seemingly have no place in the news. They either cause people to smile or say, "Wow, I didn't know that" or "Gee, that's stupid." Consider these odd articles.
Conflict
A break in the normal routine, usually. Dog bites man is not news; man bites dog is news.
Disaster / progress
One person's progress may be another's disaster. For example, a new development over the Edwards Aquifer may be progress to developers but disaster for environmentalists.
Click here for classic case of two sides to the same situation. And click here for one side and here for another. Click here for disaster news
Human interest or pathos
Click here for help with human interest reporting
This requires more work on the reporter's part. It requires digging, often. More often, children, animals, old people and people overcoming adversity are worthy of coverage as human interest. Often, human interest stems from a natural disaster such as a hurricane or an earthquake; the story will center on people performing heroic rescues or people suffering as a result of the disaster.
Other contributing factors might be exceptional quality, future impact, shock value or titillation component.
Click here for examples. .
Click here for more strange but true news.
Click here for Changing Local News.
Updated Feb. 7, 2006