1. 1 What is Ag News? Week 1

2. 2 What is news? Three primary characteristics –Relevance –Usefulness –Interest Context-specific definitions –Audience

3. 3 News values Relevance –Importance to audience Usefulness –Provides information that can influence audience members lives Interest –Can be a combination of relevance and usefulness, or it can be simply interesting

4. 4 News values – key elements Specific elements –Impact How many people? How much? –Conflict Struggles –Novelty Man bites dog –Prominence Who?

5. 5 News values – key elements Proximity –Close to home Timeliness –Before rather than after

6. 6 Changing audiences Online –News when and where you want it Print news audiences want: –News –Relevant to them and their community –Some world and national news –Gimmicks alone wont do it –Practical and useful information they can use

7. 7 Changing audiences Journalists no longer just gatekeepers on information Journalists are navigators

8. 8 Agricultural Audiences Demographics –6% non-owners –44% produce both crops and animals –36% crops only –19% animals only –78% male –22% female –Mean average age: 51 –90% minimum high school education –23% college degrees –Mean household income: $69,810 APA Gallup 2000 Survey

9. 9 Changing audiences Gen X want list –Visual snap –Densely Layered –Interaction –Relevance –Diversity More hope, not just catastrophe and absurdity

10. 10 New Journalism Democracy isnt working as well as it should Journalists should try to do something about it Goodwill at the expense of Independence? Ag journalists have always tended to be new journalists.

11. 11 Accuracy and fairness The best obtainable version of the truth Journalists find and write the facts –Hard to get the facts –What do they mean? –Is it really a fact? –Time limitations and/or space limitations

12. 12 Accuracy and fairness Names spelled correctly Facts correct Context questions Both sides of the story All possible viewpoints

13. 13 Frames Viewpoint or perspective on story or topic Audiences point of view? Boomtown television show Florida Club Golf Course –Neighbor was an existing small farm with pigs –Smell, noise (farmer played music for the pigs.) –Points of view?

14. 14 Objectivity Is it possible? What does it really mean? The Hutchins Commission (1947)... truthful, comprehensive and intelligent account of the days event in a context which gives them meaning.