1. Understanding News Introduction to Journalism

2. A Definition of News 1. News must be factual, yet not all facts are news. 2. News may be opinion, especially that of a prominent person or an authority on a particular subject. 3. News is primarily about people, what they say and do. 4. News is not necessarily a report of a recent event. 5. What is important news to one community or school may be unimportant or have little or no news value in another community or school.

3. A Definition of News 6. What is news in one community or school may be news in every community or school. 7. What is news today is often not news tomorrow. 8. What is news for one person may not be news for another. 9. Two factors necessary to news, interest & importance, are not always synonymous (the same).

4. Interest & Importance Potential Story #1: The school board announces that a new cafeteria will be built for the school. Potential Story #2: The athletic director of a local school is being sued for sexual harassment by one of the coaches.

5. Which one has more interest? Importance to you? Often stories that receive the most display in a news outlet are not very important to most readers or listeners. One of the unique characteristics of a story that is not important, but interesting is a CONFLICT. A mountain climber is rescued after being stranded on Mount Everest. Man against nature conflict.

6. Possible Conflicts Man vs. Man Man vs. Nature Man vs. Self Man vs. Society Man vs. Destiny/Fate

7. Hard News Has significance for relatively large numbers of the audience about time-sensitive events Major events in government, politics, foreign affairs, education, labor, religion, courts, financial markets Example: A software company plans to issue public stock.

8. Soft News Less important because it entertains, though it also informs Includes human interest and feature stories that relate to hard news Appeals to emotions more than the intellect Example: A companion story about the person who started the same software company and his motorcycle collection.