Lecture 9 was on news values - how we prioritise news and
decide what will make a story. As journalists, how do we know what is worth
writing about amidst the multitude of events across our globe? The lecture
explored the meaning behind news values, the simplicity of news values, factors
that define it, and threats to newsworthiness.
It turns out that conflict, tragedy and scandal are the constituents
for captivating readers, which is quickly becoming the aim of news, rather than
simply reporting a version of events. Definitions such as “If it bleeds it
leads” are highly popular and well known as a basis for news values on an
international level. The lecture explored the impact, audience identification, pragmatics,
and source influence in news values.
We were shown lists of news values devised by a variety of
academics, all with different specific values, but essentially the same goal.
The links to each are below.
Often lists of news values when grouped together tend to complement
each other, and as a result, can exclude each other. The first definition given
to us, described news values as “the degree of prominence a media outlet gives
to a story, and the attention that is paid by an audience.” Obviously news
values themselves are considered before the pieces are assembled however the
reader/viewer response is just as important in determining what kind of stories
consumers are after and find most interesting.
For news to be considered ‘interesting’, it must have some
sort of relevance and connection to the audience. It is this reader response
aspect that I found interesting, along with the fact that Public Relations and
journalism are becoming increasingly integrated.
We were also introduced to a different concept that news
stations such as nine, seven and ten apply. “If it’s local it leads” is the
phrase referring to our desire for personally relevant and news that is in close
proximity to us, affecting us or someone we may know personally. Applying this,
the 22 people who died in the Queensland floods had more prominence than over
500 who died in the Brazilian floods at the same time, and an Australian
injured in a natural disaster overseas than possibly the disaster itself.
Threats to newsworthiness include ethics, proximity (greater
distances), immediacy (requirement for haste in reporting), political influence
in news outlets (restrictions), and PR. Three tensions of newsworthiness were
defined; the commercialization of media and social life, public relations and
journalism’s ideas versus reality. There are tensions between ideals of
journalism, its honourable aims etc, and the reality of journalism.
Books on journalism from the past few years have explored
the decline and decay of journalism, such as ‘junk news’, and an interesting
concept; ‘churnalism’. ‘Churnalism’ is repurposing things like video news
releases (which are made through secondary sources to the journalist, where
footage and interviews are taken, then sold to news companies – for the purpose
of editing) and press releases, using them directly as news stories. It is churning
out news without revision or fixing. With less time, and more stories to be
written, it is forever tempting for journalists to spit out pre prepared stories,
without checking the facts. With the arrival of social media and ‘interwebs’,
this is being counteracted, as readers can interact with each other, analyse
the information themselves and search for the truth without simply being ‘force
fed’.
While defining lists of news values can be helpful, in
reality choosing what to include and what not to, is instinctual and dependent
on who news is for, and the time and place it appears etc. As a science student,
I spotted a strange parallel between news values and the concept of natural
selection in populations throughout evolution. Natural selection is completely
environmental dependant. Organisms select mates based on their social and
physical needs at the time, their current condition and the selection is
relevant to their own, and their offspring’s survival. This is, to some extent,
the same for journalists and news companies. They select the stories they
believe are most relevant to the audience, dependent on - and ultimately for
the survival of the news source. So overall, news values vary between news
services, cultures and countries. There may be common interests but they are
certainly varying.
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