Newsworthiness Notes

Broadcast Journalism: Airing news/current events instantaneously through TV, radio, or Internet.
What is News?: an account of events that interest and concern the public.
The 6 criteria of newsworthiness:
1. Unusualness - the different, unusual, out-of-the ordinary; more often found bad than good.
2. Significance - important events, ones that affect many people (elections, wars, the economy)
3. Timeliness - hearing about the flood while it's happening
4. Proximity - nearby events (the new state tax law, the proposed regional highway)
5. Prominence - well-known people, buldings, or places are involved
6. Human Interest - ordinary people or animals, humorous or dramatic stories, heartwarming or heart-wrenching stories; an emotional and personal appeal that draws attention
A STORY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ALL OF THESE QUALITIES; THE MORE IT HAS, THE MORE NEWSWORTHY IT WILL BE.
Differences between print journalism and broadcast journalism: Newspapers provide fuller coverage & readers act as their own editors, picking and choosing what they want to read. News magazines provide in-depth coverage; not as timely as newspapers but easier to store. Radio news reports are usually very limited but the most timely. TV news provides the most dramatic news coverage; viewers can actually see the story. TV is very timely but broadcasters rarely interrupt regular programming to cover the news as it's happening.
Example stories of the 6 criteria for newsworthiness:
Unusualness: Skyway for sale for the 4th time
Significance: 2010 legislative session starts with a bang and bonding
Timeliness: Could lottery fund stadium?
Proximity: Man trapped in corn bin in Farmington
Prominence: Twins to get maximum number of Fox appearances
Human interest: Shopping for Love