What makes a news story?
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This document outlines the fundamental aspects of news and journalism, emphasizing the importance of local stories and the journalist's role in identifying and conveying significant events to the audience. It discusses various news topics, including human interest stories, health issues, crime, and the impact of weather and economics, while stressing the need for ethical reporting. Ultimately, it defines news as information that is new, unusual, or significant, which directly affects readers' lives.
What makes a news story?
- 1. WHAT IS NEWS? Journalism basics Image by Media Helping Media released under Creative Commons
- 2. Image courtesy of Randy Wills Photos released under Creative Commons Audience identification
- 3. What is news? The appeal of local news is that your readers or listeners might know the people or places involved and may identify with events People can identify with stories about other people like themselves Stories which many can identify with are stronger than those which apply to a few Closeness Personal impact
- 4. News sources Information from press officers and public relations officers are a steady source of information Part of your job as a journalist is to sort out what is informative from the millions of boring words you are sent Material we are given Which we have to assess Image courtesy of 427 released under Creative Commons
- 5. News sources There is also news which journalists find for themselves and reveal to the public This need not be a subject which somebody wants to be kept secret Many people have a story to tell It’s part of your job as a journalist to find these people and report their stories Material we find Which we have to explain Image courtesy of ancawonka released under Creative Commons
- 6. News sources Wars, strikes, revolutions, political power battles All are important topics that we must explore and explain We need to help the audience understand the underlying issues Conflicts Which we have to understand Image courtesy of Caza_No_7 released under Creative Commons
- 7. News sources Air crashes, train crashes, ships sinking, volcanic eruptions, Tsunamis, earthquakes Human tragedies such as children falling down deep wells from which they cannot be rescued Disaster and tragedy Sensitivity needed Image courtesy of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep released under Creative Commons
- 8. News sources How changes affect people's lives, for better or for worse New ideas or progress in one area may mean less progress in another Our job as journalists is to find out and explain to the audience Progress & development No free PR Image courtesy of Toban Black released under Creative Commons
- 9. News sources Crime is news, whether it is a road traffic offence, break and enter, corruption, forgery, rape or murder More serious crimes or unusual crimes generally make bigger news stories But we must always avoid sensationalising and must ensure that we just deliver facts and not write drama Crime Innocent until proven guilty Image courtesy of thivierr released under Creative Commons
- 10. News sources Fortunes made and lost Taxes and budgets Food prices Wage rises It is not only large sums of money which make news Struggling to live is a major source of important news stories Money Who is paying whom? Image courtesy of Images_of_Money released under Creative Commons
- 11. News sources The journalist should give voice to the voiceless the innocent against false charges the poor against exploitation The underdog Voice to the voiceless Image courtesy of Julie70 released under Creative Commons
- 12. News sources Events involving religious lives, such as festivals and new buildings Statements by religious leaders The things the public do as part of their beliefs How religion impacts on society Religion Understand tolerance Image courtesy of C Jill Reed released under Creative Commons
- 13. News sources Prominent men and women make news What people in the public eye do, the lives they lead and what they look like, are all of interest But we must never simply write stories about prominent people for the sake of it We must always explore the news angle Famous people Privacy issues Image courtesy of Justin Stone released under Creative Commons
- 14. News sources Disease, outbreaks, cures, research, all make news stories Advice on drugs, diet and exercise are also of interest to the public We need to be covering the health issues that concern the audience Health Public information Image courtesy of shibuya246 released under Creative Commons
- 15. News sources All societies are interested in sex, even if they do not talk about it openly. Many news stories about sex involve behaviour which goes outside society's generally accepted standards. Sex Public information Image courtesy of S Pakhrin released under Creative Commons
- 16. News sources The weather may affect the daily routine of people It’s of interest when it’s unusual with exceptionally high or low temperatures, or exceptionally high or low rainfall We need to look for the stories where the weather has caused personal and social disruption Weather Public information Image courtesy of Hanoi Mark released under Creative Commons
- 17. News sources Shortages in the food supply Failure of crops and poor harvests The price of food A visit to the market will always produce a news story Food and drink Public information Image courtesy of Daniele Civello released under Creative Commons
- 18. News sources Stories about music, dance, theatre and cinema The lives of celebrities always interest the audience However we must ensure that there is an editorial justification in covering these stories and ask ... “ is it in the public interest?” Entertainment Public information Image courtesy of Oceania Rock released under Creative Commons
- 19. News sources Sports news, results, player transfers, statistics Many people will choose a radio or TV station or select a newspaper based on its sports coverage If your coverage is good you need to reflect the top stories from that coverage in your bulletins and on your front page Sport Image courtesy of rycat released under Creative Commons
- 20. News sources Unusual and interesting aspects of other people's lives which are not particularly significant to society as a whole Stories about these are called human interest stories The audience likes them because they make them smile and can be a nice distraction from the harder news Human interest Image courtesy of San Diego Shooter released under Creative Commons
- 21. News sources If it is not new or unusual If it is not interesting or significant If it will not affect your readers‘ lives Then it is not news Do not publish it as news The news test We only deal in news
- 22. What is news? The module uses material from The News Manual Media Helping Media has been given permission to publish edited highlights of some basic training modules Using some material from The News Manual http://www.thenewsmanual.net/
- 23. The source of the following material in this module Media Helping Media