Elements of news judgment

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Elements of news judgment

• What editors take into account

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What is news?
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What is news?

• Curtis D. MacDougall
• 1938 classic Interpretative Reporting
• News is an account of an event which a newspaper
  prints in the belief that by so doing it will
  profit.

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Deciding whats news
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Deciding whats news

• Timeliness

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Deciding whats news

• Timeliness
• Impact

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Deciding whats news

• Timeliness
• Impact
• Singularity (uniqueness)

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Deciding whats news

• Timeliness
• Impact
• Singularity (uniqueness)
• Proximity

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Deciding whats news

• Timeliness
• Impact
• Singularity (uniqueness)
• Proximity
• Prominence

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Deciding whats news

• Timeliness
• Impact
• Singularity (uniqueness)
• Proximity
• Prominence
• Conflict

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Timeliness

• Something that just happened is newsier than
  something that happened a while ago

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Timeliness

• Something that just happened is newsier than
  something that happened a while ago
• Key on the latest development, not the original
  incident

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Impact

• Real, not theoretical

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Impact

• Real, not theoretical
• World could end tomorrow

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Impact

• Real, not theoretical
• World could end tomorrow
• Death is the ultimate impact

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Impact

• Real, not theoretical
• World could end tomorrow
• Death is the ultimate impact
• Numbers also matter (how many)

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Singularity
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Singularity

• Man bites dog

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Singularity

• Man bites dog
• Coincidence

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Proximity

• Local angle

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Proximity

• Local angle
• How to define?

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Proximity

• Local angle
• How to define?
• In some cases, local local in other cases the
  whole state, region or country

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Proximity

• Local angle
• How to define?
• In some cases, local local in other cases the
  whole state, region or country
• Just because something happened nearby doesnt
  mean its newsworthy

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Prominence
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Prominence

• Celebrity

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Prominence

• Celebrity
• A famous person

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Prominence

• Celebrity
• A famous person
• This does NOT refer to groups

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Prominence

• Celebrity
• 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

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Conflict
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Conflict

• Ranges from policy disputes

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Conflict

• Ranges from policy disputes
• To sports rivalries

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Conflict

• Ranges from policy disputes
• To sports rivalries
• To shooting wars

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Always a balancing act
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Always a balancing act

• Stories that have more elements of news are
  likely to be stronger than those with fewer

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Always a balancing act

• Stories that have more elements of news are
  likely to be stronger than those with fewer
• But there are gradations within each category

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Always a balancing act

• Stories that have more elements of news are
  likely to be stronger than those with fewer
• But there are gradations within each category
• Bigger smaller celebrities bigger smaller
  impacts bigger smaller conflicts

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Who are our readers?
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Who are our readers?

• Local Oshkosh paper

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Who are our readers?

• Local Oshkosh paper
• Traditional values

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Who are our readers?

• Local Oshkosh paper
• Traditional values
• Homogeneous

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Who are our readers?

• Local Oshkosh paper
• Traditional values
• Homogeneous
• Sports/outdoors