What makes something newsworthy?

Discuss the concept of news. What makes information newsworthy?

There are 8 characteristics that makes something newsworthy.

The first is timeliness which is probably the most important of the 8 characteristics, because if news isn’t current, people are not going to want to read it. It is important to announce something when it happens. Also, it is important to be up-to-date with current events and stories already being covered by the news.

The next is prominence which is when you use well-known people or organizations to draw attention. An example of this would be having a celebrity at an event, because therefore people would want to read about it.

Another is proximity and this is important because people want to read about things that are happening close to them. Gatekeepers would rather print local stories because it offers a strong news value.

Significance is when a situation or event that effects a large number of people. It is important to know how many people will be affected as well as who will be affected.

Unusualness is anything out of the ordinary that may attract public attention or the press. An example of this would be challenging students to create duct tape prom dresses. This is not something people hear about everyday, but it is something people would want to read about.

Human Interest is an important characteristic as well. People are interested in other people, and it does not just include celebrities. An example of this would be a ninety-year-old being initiated into Zeta Tau Alpha.

Another characteristic, that is pretty common for news stories is Conflict. Conflict is dominant in society, as well as in news, and people enjoy reading about conflicts between people.

The last characteristic is Newness, which is used when a new product is being released. You have to ensure that the product really is new, and it doesn’t just have new packaging.

All of these characteristics make something newsworthy. Some things will have more than one characteristic, while others will only qualify under one.