definitions, characteristics, values News

What is the news? The Concept: News

What is your definition of the news?

Oxford Dictionary News—information about important or recent events, when published or broadcast

Other definitions of news News is what somebody somewhere wants to supress يقمع ; all the rest is advertising News is conflict, hardship معاناه and danger خطر to the community; the unusual (oddity الغرائب, novelty الشدة ); scandal الفضيحة and individualism الفرديه based on the latter attributes of news News is what newspaper men make it Unless we understand better the social forces which bear on the reporting of news, we will never understand what news is

Objectivity and Reality One way to describe news is to say it is an „objective” account in the media of a recent newsworthy event or trend اتجاه. According to the Western journalistic tradition, a journalist is an impartial نزيه observer who gathers, processes, and imparts news

It has been suggested in the science of communication that objectivity in journalism cannot qualify as a positivistic وضعى, verifiable concept يمكن التحقق من المفهوم. Some say journalism does not exist as a neutral محايد or objective mirror image of reality as it often chooses to claim.

„The newspaper, seen in its totality, is far more related to a portrait صورة, an impressionistic portrait الصورة الانطباعيه, than a mirror or a photo image. We select and accentuate ابراز ; we cannot do otherwise.”

For this reason, researchers have concluded that objectivity in journalism is not possible—that in fact it is a myth خرافة. One can assume that each journalist’s interpretation of a news event is just as subjective as the reader’s version of an article at the time it is read.

What are some of the rules of journalistic objectivity? Does that mean a journalist should not strive يسعى for objectivity?

Rule 1 Using a variety of sources; covering both parties

Rule 2 Separating facts from opinion and comment

Galtung and Ruge In their groundbreaking study of foreign news, Galtung and Ruge (1965) identified nine elements or news factors that make up news selection and they are still valid today:

Time Span The event should best fit the time schedule of the news medium

Intensity شدة or Threshold Value القيمة الاخباريه Magnitude حجم or sudden increase in the normal level of events

Clarity A story with clear facts would rather be published

Cultural Proximity or Relevance القرب The close the event, the better

Consonance النتيجة Stories that are ‘expected’—for instance, corruption in certain countries—are more likely to be selected

Unexpectedness الاحداث الفجائيه The more unusual or unpredictable

Continuity Once a strory is ‘running’ there will be some momentum to carry it further

Composition التركيب News stories should normally fit the overall balance of the medium

Sociocultural Values of the society and the gatekeepers حراس at the particular news medium

These news values should be tied with the traditional journalistic 5 Ws and the H The character in the event (who) The event itself (what) The cause (why) The place (where) The time (when) The manner (how)