Elements of News

1. What editors consider Elements of News

2. What is news? • Come up with your own definition of what news is to share with class. Write this down. • Discuss with persons at your table. • As a group come up with a definition on which all can agree. Write this down. • How did the definition change? • Was it difficult to agree what news is?

3. What is news? • “News is an account of an event which a newspaper prints in the belief that by so doing it will profit.” • Curtis D. MacDougall • 1938 classic “Interpretative Reporting” • How does group’s definition compare to MacDougall’s?

4. Gatekeepers • Editors* make decisions based on criteria* • Variation of criteria wording exists • However, reasoning is same or similar • Control what is reported (gatekeeping) *Newsroom leaders *A standard for judging or deciding

5. Newsworthy • Noteworthy as news • Topical • Having value as news

6. Deciding what’s news • Discuss with persons at your table how editors (people running TV, newspapers, etc.) decide what stories to run. • List top three criteria your table believes is important in deciding which items make something newsworthy.

7. Elements of NewsCriteria for deciding what’s news • Timeliness • Prominence • Consequence • Proximity • Change / Progress / Action

8. Elements of NewsCriteria for deciding what’s news • Concreteness / Impact • Personality / Human Interest • Rarity / Singularity (uniqueness) • Conflict

9. a) Timeliness • Something that just happened is newsier than something that happened a while ago • Key on the latest development, not the original incident • It’s new, otherwise, we’d call it “olds”

10. b) Prominence • Celebrity, politician • A famous person • This does not refer to groups • A story about a teacher is not necessarily newsworthy just because teachers occupy a prominent place in society

11. c) Consequence • Importanceof the event. • How large number of people will/did it an effect on? • Less consequencewhen affecting fewer people. • Ask yourself how many people will be affected.

12. d) Proximity • Local angle* • How to define? • In some cases, local local; in other cases the whole state, region or country • Think about a bull's eye, closer to center higher the score • Just because something happened nearby doesn’t mean it’s newsworthy *direction story takes, slant

13. e) Change / Progress / Action • When there is a new or differentway to do something • An advancement

14. f) Concreteness / Impact • Real, not theoretical* • “World could end tomorrow” • Death is the ultimate impact • Numbers also matter (how many) *in theory only, not tangible (touchable)

15. g) Personality / Human Interest • Anything that appeals to the reader’s emotions • Makes him laugh, cry, get angry, feel sympathy, etc….has the potential for human interest. • “Warm and fuzzy” feeling

16. h) Rarity/Singularity(uniqueness) • An unusual, strange occurrence • May have never happened before • The strange or unusual is fascinating to many readers. • Related to Personality/Human Interest

17. i) Conflict • Ranges from policy disputes(politics) • To sports rivalries • To shooting wars • Any time there is a struggle

18. A. Timeliness Examples Set 1 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S1 Sarah Johnson has always wanted a dog. Now a 10 week old puppy wiggles in her lap, frantically trying to lick her face. • S2 The Mustang football team will play Wilsonvilletomorrow, hoping to continue its win streak. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

19. A. Timeliness Examples Set 2 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S3 Construction has closed school entrances and closed portions of parking lots, forcing students and faculty alike to scramble to rearrange their normal patterns. • S4 It’s been 41 years since Arnold Palmer won the last of his seven major championships.  But he’s still the biggest draw. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

20. A. Timeliness Examples Set 3 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S5 Be the first to know: "Like" the North Clackamas Schools Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NorthClackamasSchools to get regular posts about NC12 schools and community events. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

21. A. Timeliness Examples Set 4 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S6 Geologists have detected a fault zone tat stretching about 20 miles from the northern flank of Mt. Hood to the Columbia River. Hidden by trees and dense vegetation, it had previously gone unnoticed. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

22. A. Timeliness Examples Set 5 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S7 Geologists have detected a fault zone stretching about 20 miles from the northern flank of Mt. Hood to the Columbia River. Hidden by trees and dense vegetation, it had previously gone unnoticed. • S8 The founder of Zupan's Markets, a grocery chain in Oregon, has died, following a hit-and-run crash. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

23. A. Timeliness Examples Set 6 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S9 People in one Tigard neighborhood are fighting the city to keep a beaver dam in place. • S10 A former bathroom in the nation's oldest public park is being converted into a sandwich shop. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

24. A. Timeliness Examples Set 7 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S11 On September 25, 11 teams will test their mettle on The Amazing Race. One of the contestants this year is farmer and rancher Bill Alden, 63, of Albany, Ore. • S12 Crews work to protect historic Mt Hood buildings from wildfire. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

25. A. Timeliness Examples Set 8 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S13 A top official in China's turbulent Xinjiang region said security forces have defused a number of threats to public safety in recent weeks but is providing few details. • S14 MAX turns 25 on Friday, with TriMet celebrations planned in Portland and Gresham. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

26. A. Timeliness Examples Set 9 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S15 Karen Grondin recently opened Grapevine Graphics and Picture Framing at Singer Hill Cafe and Desserts at 623 Seventh St. • S16 A house fire in Damascus is estimated to have caused $150,000 worth of damage. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

27. A. Timeliness Examples Set 10 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S17 Oregon U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley is prepared to fully the support the Portland City Council if it chooses to request a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s requirement to replace the city’s five open reservoirs. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

28. A. Timeliness Examples Set 11 B. Prominence C. Consequence • S18 It’s been 10 years since terrorists attacked New York’s Twin Towers and the Pentagon and passengers foiled another attack by crashing a plane into a Pennsylvania field. • S19 More than two decades since the great-grandmother’s first skydive, Frankie Bryant, 69, still loves the sensation of falling through the skies. D. Proximity E. Change F. Concreteness G. Personality H. Rarity I. Conflict

29. Always a balancing act • Stories having more elements of news have stronger newsworthiness • But there are gradations within each category • Bigger & smaller celebrities; bigger & smaller impacts; bigger & smaller conflicts

30. Who are our readers? • Local paper • Traditional values • Homogeneous* vs. heterogeneous* • Sports/outdoors • *Same mix throughout • *Different throughout

31. Inform Educate Entertain Three goals of journalism

32. Goal of publisher* • Make money! • * A person or company owning a news organization