What Makes News?

News

Whether it is a news report, a newspaper column, a radio program, or a television program, news is a type of information that helps people stay informed. It is important that the news reported is accurate and impartial. It also should be interesting to readers.

The purpose of news is to make people aware of things that are happening in their neighborhoods. However, not everything is news. For instance, the dog biting a person is not a news story. On the other hand, the election of Barack Obama is a big news story.

What makes news? There are a number of factors that go into deciding whether something is a news story. These include what is happening, the significance of the event, and the potential impact on readers. Ultimately, it is up to the journalists to determine what is news.

The value of an event depends on how the audience will react. For example, a discovery of an insect is likely to be news in a specialist publication, but may not be a big news story in a general news broadcast. In addition, the value of the event may differ based on the society in which it is reported. This is because the audience is more likely to pay attention to events that involve loss of life. The highest form of conflict is war.

Another factor that determines if something is a news story is the degree of controversy. If there is a lot of controversy, the story is likely to be a good news story. This is because the more controversy there is, the more impact the story will have on readers.

Finally, a journalist will check the credibility of the story. For example, if a company releases a video of Russian operatives, it is unlikely that the company will be given good press. In this case, the journalist should investigate both sides of the story and provide news that is fair and impartial.

The values of news are often explained by scholars. Two examples of scholarly explanations are Galtung and Ruge (1965) and Brighton and Foy (1994). The value of news is a measure of how many people are affected. It can also be a measure of how well a story is written.

According to the Political Model, a news story represents a person’s ideological biases. This is because news reflects different political pressures. For example, the death of Mao Tse-tung was a news story, even though it was not released to the public for several days. The story was also significant because it was a surprise, which triggered a large amount of interest.

In the Organizational Model, the news is a reflection of the pressures on governmental processes. For instance, if a government is cracking down on certain groups, the Internet can be a major propagation channel. In the same way, if a riot is happening in a neighboring country, the stability of the country that is causing the disturbance is at risk.