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News Determinants. How does a newspaper decide which stories to run? How does a reporter decide what to include in a story? News determinants are used by editors and writers to place value on potential stories. What will sell the most papers? What does the public want?. Timeliness.
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News Determinants How does a newspaper decide which stories to run? How does a reporter decide what to include in a story? News determinants are used by editors and writers to place value on potential stories. What will sell the most papers? What does the public want?
Timeliness Something new or a new twist on an old story.
Readers want to know NOW. What happened yesterday or last night or this morning is more important than what happened last week. However, a new discovery with an old story will make the story appeal to readers again. Occasionally a paper will be so eager to get their paper to press first that errors are made. A famous mistake by the Chicago Daily Tribune was their top headline incorrectly naming Dewey the winner of the 1948 presidential election against Harry Truman. Oops.
Proximity An event with local appeal that occurs in our neighborhood. Shared experiences with people who live in our area or who share our interests.
A fire in an apartment building in Denmark is not newsworthy to someone living in Oregon. However, a fire in an apartment building in Denmark where two Oregon residents were visiting? NOW it’s news. Local Oregon Papers: Places to go for local news
Prominence Activities of well known people.
Prominent people are newsworthy. Politicians, athletes, actors and actresses, authors -- anyone in the public eye. When looking at a school newspaper, the president of the senior class is more prominent than Joe Freshman. Who is involved often determines if the story is covered.
Conflict Clashes of all types: wars, strikes, protests, feuds.
Consequence A sequence of events triggered by a different news event or something happening in the world or in the community.
Human Interest The emotional background of the news. Intended to appeal to emotion – pull on your heart strings.
KIDS ANIMALS OLD PEOPLE
Humor The lighter side of the news! (We all need a break from the heavy stuff every now and again.)
Sex Of universal interest. Guaranteed to sell papers or get high ratings on the nightly news.
Got Sex? The Willamette Week had access to the questionable emails sent from Police Chief Derrick Foxworth to a female colleague. They published them verbatim. And it was one of the most widely read issues in the news magazine’s history. Monica Lewinsky had an affair with President Bill Clinton and we knew all the gritty details. Inside the “bedroom” and into the homes of the newspaper readers around the world. Nothing was sacred.
Oddity or Novelty Rare. Unusual. Bizarre.
Many stories have more than one determinant. A story can be timely and also have a conflict involving a prominent person. Or a timely story can happen in your city, but also have human interest qualities. The more determinants a story has, the more likely it is to be a popular news item.
Assignment: Use the newspapers provided and with a partner find a story for each determinant. (It is okay to find stories that have more than one determinant. Pick which one you will categorize it under.) You will have NINE stories total. Write two or three sentences about each story explaining why you picked it for that particular category. Cut out the story – write your reasons next to it. Due at the end of class.
