News values

1. News values

2. Hard and soft news
 Hard
news. Events that are timely and are
covered almost automatically by print and
electronic media. A speech by a ranking public
official or a natural disaster are examples.
 Soft news. Events that are usually not
considered immediately important to a wide
audience. Many of these still merit coverage. A
math fair at an elementary school would be an
example.

3. News values
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Timeliness
Proximity
Conflict or controversy
Disaster or tragedy
Eminence and Prominence
Consequence and Impact
Human Interest
Novelty – the weird factor
Magnitude
Currency
Helpfulness
Entertainment
Special interest
Cooperation/Consensus
Common experience

4. You decide the front page
Choose five stories, ranked 1 to 5. (1 being most important) (You are an
editor at a statewide metro newspaper based in Salt Lake
a. Unsolved child murders are a daily incident
b. Granato paints Lee as an extremist
c. Regulators back new bank rules to avert crises
d. GOP leader says he’ll compromise on tax-cut bill
e. City’s DUI arrests have doubled

5. Timeliness
 Is
it a recent development, or is it old news?
 GOP takes Kennedy’s longtime Senate seat

6. Proximity
 Is
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the story relevant to local readers?
Driver License Division lines

7. Conflict
 Is
the issue developing, has it been resolved or
does anybody care?
 Obama pressing for protections against
lenders

8. Eminence and prominence
 Are
noteworthy people involved? If so, that
makes the story more important.
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Obama pressing for protections against lenders

9. Consequence and Impact
 What
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effect will the story have on readers?
Children Awake? Then they’re probably online

10. Novelty/Weirdness
 Out
of the ordinary. “Dog bites man” is not
news. “Man bites dog” is.
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Man tries to fake attack, dies of blood loss

11. Human interest
 Even
though it might not be an earth-shattering
event, does it contain unique, interesting
elements.
 You saw that in Avatar? Pass the glasses.
 Whittingham staying put: More offers for Ute
coach

12. Other factors
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Cycle
Competition
Availability
The news hole
Photography-graphics
Instincts of editors
The audience
Philosophy of the
medium
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Influence of advertisers
The news mix
Changing demographics
Los Angeles Times
Safety
Progeny
Health