2. Chapter 3 What is News?

3. News Information that has not been heard before Something interesting or important Something that will have an impact on the public

4. Gatekeepers Directors & producers: select stories & plan shows Editors: select & prioritize items for pages or paper Gatekeepers ask: “What will most people like? First page of a paper is like a store front – What interests people most is displayed in the window just as most interesting news is placed on the front page of a paper.

5. What is news? News is “what is say it is. It’s something worth knowing by my standards.” – David Brinkley, NBC news anchor

6. What is news? “News revolves around the three W’s— ‘Women, wampum, wrongdoing.’ (sex, money, crime) - Stanley Walker, editor of New York Herald Tribune

7. What is news? Events must be a bit out of the ordinary for it to be news. “When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often, but if a man bites a dog, it’s news.” – John Bogart, editor of the New York Sun

8. Characteristics of News Timeliness Prominence Proximity Conflict Impact Human Interest

9. Timeliness News is timely the day it happens.

10. Prominence People whose names, pictures, and voices appear in public on a regular basis.

11. Prominence Homer Simpson Sally Wiggin Madonna Dr. Killmeyer

12. Proximity Being close

13. Conflict Involves opposing forces

14. Impact Effect or consequences a story has on an audience

15. Human Interest Tugs at the heart strings People doing normal activities in an unusual way

16. Fact, Interest, Audience Determine which stories are news Facts – Is the story material adequate, accurate, timely Interest – How much meaning does a story have to readers? Audience – Who are the readers or viewers?

17. Influencing Factors 1.Size of news hole 30-minute TV news = 22 minutes news 8 minutes of ads 22 minutes of news is subdivided = international, national, local news Number of pages in a newspaper = number of ads

18. Influencing Factors 2.News Flow Determines a story’s importance News that happens at the same time may effect worthiness of another story Stories may be rearranged or cut from the budget

19. Influencing Factors 3.Medium Certain stories may be more appropriate for certain news formats o TV = emotional appeal o Newspaper = provides more info. & details o Internet = provides written & video form o Radio = immediate reporting, limits number of stories and length

20. Federal Communications Commission FCC Est. 1934 Made up of five commissioners appointed by president

21. Federal Communications Commission Regulates air waves – Licenses radio & TV stations – Assigns frequencies & amount of power use – Assigns call letters Example: WDVE, WXDX, WPXI

22. Influencing Factors 4.Deadlines Internet, radio, TV = short deadlines Newspapers = longer deadline o Example: evening paper = noon deadline a.m. paper = midnight o Average-size nsp. = one edition o Larger-size nsp. = two editions

23. Influencing Factors 5. Editorial Philosophy Policies set by publishers & station owners Purpose = to guide reports in knowing what is news for their nsp. or program In 1700s press was govt. watchdog Newspapers have political agenda – Conservative or liberal

24. Influencing Factors FCC prohibited stations from taking political stance due to limited number of stations FCC changed policy, but most stations refrain from taking sides.

25. Influencing Factors 6.Business nsp. & broadcast stations are a business Largest income = advertising sales Ad rates = based on number of subscribers or viewers of a medium

26. Finding News News Judgment – journalists develop a sense of what is news Use wire services, letters, calls, and tips Must find 2-3 story ideas Professional – use competitors as sources Beats – regular contact sources – Example: police beat, educational beat, govt.

27. Localizing News Stories can originate in other places Local angle (noun) – A fact or person that connects the story to local audience – Example: Pittsburgh sisters ran orphanage in Haiti – This story is localized due to the devastation of the earth quake Localizing (verb) – To find someone or something in the community that has ties to a story from somewhere else

28. Future Files Notes editors and reporters make about information they hear, see or think might be good for a story or date of an upcoming event