Understanding News

Introduction to Journalism

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.

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).

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.

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.

Possible Conflicts

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Self

Man vs. Society

Man vs. Destiny/Fate

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.

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.