News Gathering and andReporting

DECIDING WHAT NEWS IS There are five standards, called news values, which help News Producers decide what constitutes news: timelinesstimeliness proximityproximity prominenceprominence consequenceconsequence human interesthuman interest Economic factors also play an increasingly important role in deciding what stories get covered and to what extent.

CATEGORIES OF NEWS AND REPORTING News stories can be broken down into three broad categories: 1. Hard news (traditional Page 1 stories) written in inverted pyramid formatwritten in inverted pyramid format starts with the lead, answering who, what, where, why, when, and how questions of the news storystarts with the lead, answering who, what, where, why, when, and how questions of the news story broadcast news uses the square formatbroadcast news uses the square format

CATEGORIES OF NEWS AND REPORTING 2. Soft news, or feature news purpose is to inform, entertain, instruct, inspire not generally as time dependent as hard news 3. Investigative reports purpose is to reveal significant information about matters of public importance through the use of time-intensive, non-routine news-gathering methods

KEY NEWS PERSONNEL EXECUTIVE NEWS DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE NEWS DIRECTOR Responsible for overall operationResponsible for overall operation NEWS PRODUCER NEWS PRODUCER Designs and assembles the newscastDesigns and assembles the newscast Assignment Editor Assignment Editor Reviews events and assigns storiesReviews events and assigns stories NEWS DIRECTOR NEWS DIRECTOR Puts newscast on the air (calls shots)Puts newscast on the air (calls shots)

NEWS FLOW There are three main sources of news: staff reporting staff reporting beat reportersbeat reporters general assignment reportersgeneral assignment reporters wire services wire services auxiliary sources (government reports, public relation handouts, syndicates, columnists, news conferences etc.) auxiliary sources (government reports, public relation handouts, syndicates, columnists, news conferences etc.)

News Gathering Technology ENG Electronic News Gathering allows portable cameras to capture live images at the story scene and beam them back to newsroom. ENG Electronic News Gathering allows portable cameras to capture live images at the story scene and beam them back to newsroom. SNG Satellite News Gathering allows live satellite feeds from anywhere on the planet to give local newsrooms global coverage ability. SNG Satellite News Gathering allows live satellite feeds from anywhere on the planet to give local newsrooms global coverage ability. These technologies allow live coverage: but that news is also shown raw, unedited and unfiltered, and therefore subject to elements of trivia, irrelevance, and inaccuracies.

The Wire Services The purpose of wire services is to provide newspapers with reporters and geographical coverage that newspapers couldnt otherwise afford. Wire correspondents cover stories, then file them with a local bureau; if the story is important enough, it gets bumped up to the state level, then to a regional bureau, or even to a national or global bureau level. There are two primary U.S. wire services: Associated Press (AP)Associated Press (AP) United Press International (UPI)United Press International (UPI)

The Wire Services The AP and UPI do have other competition, most notably: The New York Times News ServiceThe New York Times News Service Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News ServiceLos Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service Britains Reuters news serviceBritains Reuters news service Frances Agence-France serviceFrances Agence-France service specialized services available on the Internet, such as the Internet Wire and CNetspecialized services available on the Internet, such as the Internet Wire and CNet

Media Differences in News Coverage Print news has a leg up on broadcast news in that print news is shown in space, not time, allowing papers to provide users with in-depth reporting and analysis. Broadcast counters that they have greater immediacy and can provide stories with both sound and video. Online new sites have an advantageous mixture of both print and broadcast, but critics charge that online reporters are often too undisciplined and untrained.

Print, Online, and Broadcast Journalists Yet another difference between news reporters in these three mediums is public recognition. Both print and online reporters remain relatively anonymous, identified to the public, if at all, only by a byline under their news stories. By contrast, TV news anchors are so well known that they achieve star status, and their appearance and personalities often become as important to the public as the stories they cover.

NEWS COUNSULTANTS News consultants effect is most noticeable in the broadcast industry. News consultants effect is most noticeable in the broadcast industry. TV station profits dependent on good audience ratings. TV station profits dependent on good audience ratings. Consultants encourage owners to value news appearance instead of substance. Consultants encourage owners to value news appearance instead of substance. Give the public the types of stories they want, rather than good traditional journalism. Give the public the types of stories they want, rather than good traditional journalism.

Similarities in the News Media Despite their differences, professional journalists in all news media share common goals and values. They include: honestyhonesty accuracyaccuracy objectivityobjectivity fairnessfairness balancebalance integrityintegrity Without adhering to these values, journalists would surely lose their credibility and the trust of the American public.

Online Journalism Public increasingly turns to online news and info. News sites such as MSNBC, CNN, and CNET are visited most often. Archived, searchable story databases are valuable to the public. Journalists cite the Internet as the most important advance in news gathering tools since the telephone. Online journalists will need extensive tech training in Internet use as well as traditional journalism training.