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Journalism Crash Course

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The Nature of News

What is news? Charles A. Dana, editor of the New York Sun, once
defined it as, "Anything that interests a large part of the community and
has never been brought to its attention before." In other words, news is
NAVIGATION what people are talking about. News is new. As Evelyn Waugh
described it, "News is what the chap who doesn't care much about
About anything wants to read."
1. Put another way, news is a change in the status quo. But does a
Outline change in the status quo guarantee that an event is newsworthy?
Suppose Philip, a normally reliable 10-year-old, is late for dinner.
Prewriting That may be of consequence in his household, but it is not news.
To be a What if he is three hours late for dinner? Then he may be missing
Successful and that is news. Then his tardiness takes on community import,

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 Reporter especially if he has become the victim of foul play. So, as this
example illustrates, news is not just a change in the status quo. It is
The Nature of a change of consequence in the status quo.
News
2. In a very real sense, news also can be defined as what reporters
The Art of and editors say it is. They are the gatekeepers, allowing the
Interviewing accounts of some events, but not others, to reach the reading
(part 1) public. And there are other factors that sometimes can determine
The Art of whether an event is news. These include the prejudice of the
Interviewing management, the size of the paper, pressure from advertisers and
(part 2) the news hole, or the space allotted to news.
3. Still, news professionals agree on at least seven main factors that
Harvesting the
help them determine if an event has consequence, if it is news.
News
These are: a) Impact—How many people does the event affect?
The Human How seriously does it affect them?
Touch
b) Proximity—An event will be more important if is closer to the readers.
Writing An earthquake in a far-off land is not as interesting as one that is close
to home.
The Writing
Process c) Timeliness—Is the event fresh? Is it new? The news must be timely
to be of use to readers.
Getting
d) Prominence—Names make news, and big names make big news.
Organized
Ordinary people are intrigued by the doings of the rich and famous.
Story
e) Novelty—This is the new in news, the unusual. The "firsts," "lasts"
Structure
and "onlys" have been the staples of the news business for many
The News years.
Lead (part 1) f) Conflict—Conflict has been the currency of great literature, drama
The News and movies for all time. From the stories of Shakespeare to those of
Lead (part 2) Disney, conflict has played a crucial role. Newspapers are no different.

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 The Rest of g) Audience—Who is the audience? The answer to that question helps
the Story determine whether an event is news at all, and if it is, where it will be
played in the paper.
The Tools of
the Trade Some of the lesser known factors that determine the news are:

Prejudice of management
Rewriting
Pressure from advertisers
Getting it Size of paper
Right (part 1) News hole

Getting it Source: The Nature of News.

Right (part 2)

Libel
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