What is News?By Jackie Scott

Is it News?

Newspaper Magazine Online News Yahoo, MSN, hotmail, etc. Twitter Facebook YouTube More?

It can ALL be news!

So… What makes it News?

What do you think? News is: events and catastrophes,

information on politics and national/ world issues. It is police reports and birth announcements. It is profiles of celebrities and tips on travel and exercise. It is reviews on movies and music. News can be ANYTHING!

So… What makes it News?

If it can be anything… how do you define it?

News is: any factual information that meets one of the following criteria:

Timeliness Proximity Prominence Consequence Human Interest Conflict

Timeliness

Timeliness relates to the “newness” of the facts. This includes elections, sporting events, announcements, etc. Basically anything that is happening now or has recently happened. “Breaking News”

Proximity

The “nearness” of the event to your place of publication. For example- If Dr. Williams wins Principal of the year it is news to us and St. Joseph- probably not to readers in Kansas City/ St. Louis.

Prominence

How well known is the individual or organization the information is about?

For example: If my daughter scores the winning goal in her soccer game, the majority of the city, state, and country DOES NOT CARE. If Alex Morgan scores the winning goal for the Olympic gold people all over the world care.

Consequence

This refers specifically to the importance of an event. The bigger an impact the event has on the audience, the bigger the CONSEQUENCE thus it’s newsworthiness.

For example: The bond issue passed last April has a direct impact on our community because it determined the future of our schools. THUS, it is newsworthy.

Human Interest

Human interest stories are directly related to how human beings behave. They use stories that play with our emotions by making us laugh, cry, or get angry.

For example, the Dominque Moceanu story.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/dominique-mocea-secret-sister-jennifer-bricker_n_1586987.html

Conflict

Stories that deal with two opposing elements or conflict. Things such as elections, sporting events and war are perfect examples of stories with high conflict.

News Artithmetic

1 ordinary person + 1 ordinary person= 0 1 ordinary person + 1 extraordinary adventure

=NEWS 1 husband + 1 wife = 0 1 husband + 3 wives = NEWS 1 bank cashier + 1 wife + 7 children = 0 1 bank cashier - $20,000 = NEWS 1 person + 1 achievement = NEWS 1 person + 1 ordinary life of 79 years = 0 1 person + 1 ordinary life of 110 years = NEWS

What is News?

http://newseum.org/digital-classroom/video/what-is-news/default.aspx

As you watch the video write down what stories they talk about and what types of news elements they have. You will need the information later this hour!

News is:

Journalism is the first rough draft of history.

-Philip Graham

News is:

Our freedom depends on freedom of the press and that cannot be limited without being lost.

-Thomas Jefferson

News is:

“A free press is the unsleeping guardian of every other right that free men prize; it is the most dangerous foe of tyranny.”

-Winston Churchhill