Chapter 3 Deciding What is News

News Judgment  You have to find what’s out there  Important vs. not important  News judgment is something we develop over time  How do we here at O’Gorman decide what is newsworthy?  Strive for timeliness, proximity, prominence

The “Who Cares” Method  We need to ask who really cares about the story  If no one cares, then why report? Examine p. 61  Strive for good taste Don’t just spread the ugly news

The Elements of News  News judgment is intuitive  The following are ways to assess what is and isn’t newsworthy

The Elements of News (cont.)  Timeliness How new is the news? Not good to cover football in January Need to focus on advance items  Proximity Nearness of a given event Stick with local news

The Elements of News (cont.)  Prominence Newsworthiness of an individual or organization Part of why the press follows movie stars and celebrities  Consequence The importance of the event Localization – national meets local What are some scenarios where this happens?

The Elements of News (cont.)  Human Interest Other people and how they behave Laugh, cry, feel emotion Unusual stories  Conflict Anything that involves tension, surprise, and suspense

The Elements of News (cont.)  Other factors Progress, money, disaster, novelty, oddity, emotions, drama, animals, children Look at the chart on p. 67

Generating News Stories  Must meet as an editorial board  Process at O’Gorman Students meet in small groups Large group puts all stories together Students select final stories Students given stories to write

Brainstorming Sessions  Throw out story ideas  Assign the stories  Allow board time to think and debate  Someone needs to record  No idea is bad  Look carefully over suggestions

Using polls  We need a good sample  200 out of 750 is a good sample  Need a fair sample All grades – male and female Have a good sample size

Questions  Creating Survey Questions Must have well-written questions No loaded language  “John is clever” v. “John is sly”  Filter Questions You can filter someone out with questions  “Do you smoke?”

Asking the right questions  Don’t confuse the person responding  Don’t ask freshmen if they believe teachers should have tenure – WHY?

Publishing Poll Results  Must be done in a timely manner  Don’t draw conclusions Let the reader draw conclusions

Ready to start generating story ideas?