List all of the news events you've heard something about over the week. Rate those events (top three) in terms of their a) importance, b) interest, c) direct effect on your life.

Have you ever been involved in an event that received wide news coverage – something you have direct knowledge of? Think about the event itself and what you saw or what your role in it was. Now think about the news coverage of event. What differences were there between your perspective and the things the news media said about the event. Evaluate the next coverage from your perspective as a participant or firsthand observer.

News – why news?

We have a need for information. Here are principles to start our thinking:

• News is a construct of journalism. News is what journalists say it is. Many people and forces in society trying to influence that decision.

• News relies on shared experiences – shared pictures in our heads – about what is going on in our society.

• News is important to the maintenance of an open society – which we are. Yes, we value privacy, but we value openness more. We expect information to be freely and openly available.

News values

One of the first things you should understand about news is news values. These are the concepts used to determine whether or not an event is news. They include

conflict

currency

impact

prominence

proximity

timeliness

human interest

An event is judged as newsworthy or not newsworthy depending on whether or not it exhibits any of these values. An event does not have to have all of these things -- although sometimes that happens. And almost everything that is news has to have the news value of timeliness.

But this is not an orderly process. Selection of news is affected by

timing (when an event occurs)

idiosyncrasies of a particular news medium (example: Trent Lott)

-- different news organizations have differing access to information

-- many news organizations create their own news (for example: news orgs commission their own public opinion polls; then are likely to give their polling results major play while ignoring those of other organizations)

-- different news organizations have different purposes and audiences

From a consumer's point of view, what is important about news?

            -- accessibility

            -- comprehensibility

            -- trustworthiness – this is the reason why news that is professionally produced, by longstanding news organizations, is paid attention to and valued; the more chaotic a situation, the valued professionally produced news becomes.

Why is news important?

• It fulfills our psychic need to know what is going on around us; to feel a part of our society and environment

• News helps us make decisions about our lives – from what to wear on a particular day to where to live, what to do and how to spend our lives.

• News help us prioritize our lives

            -- alerts us to dangers

            -- lets us know what to anticipate

            -- lets us know what others are thinking

• News is part of the shared information – information we assume everyone else has – that makes us a part of a community.

• News allows us to participate in civic  life, to take part in discussion and debate.

Culture of journalism

Since news is the product of journalism, it is important that we take a look at what we might call the culture of journalism to examine some of the norms and expectations of producing news (from Journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How):

            Journalism is viewed as a public trust by the people who practice it. Journalists do not get into the field to make money. They want to make a good living (and most do), and they hope to do well, but they do not expect to gain wealth through their own hard work or cleverness.

            Journalism is protected from most outside restraints. Journalists operate in an environment where they are generally free of outside restraints. They must observe the laws that are imposed on all citizens, but within the journalistic working environment; there are few laws (if any at all) that allow outside forces, including the government, to impose restrictions on what they do or how they operate.

            Journalism organizations, despite the public trust they bear, must survive in a capitalist economy. They do not receive government grants to operate. Instead, they have to be profit-making businesses, and they have to find ways of avoiding bankruptcy and maintaining good economic health.

            Journalistic practices require high levels of skill and intellectual training. Journalists must know the language and how to use it; they must master the equipment that it takes to produce and distribute their product. These are not easy skills to acquire; training is a must. How this training is acquired is not prescribed by the profession.

            Journalism is an open field of endeavor. There is no professional gate, such as a bar exam or medical board exam. A person can be hired by a news organization and without any training at all and begin the practice of journalism. (Not a good idea, but it can happen.) A person can even declare himself or herself a journalist, without the benefit of having an employer.

            Despite its openness and independence, a definite culture exists within journalism. Walk into any newsroom or editorial office where journalism is practiced, and the feeling you will get is different from anything else you have experienced. This culture of journalism stems from its traditions and its peculiar practices and imposes itself on anyone who undertakes to work in this field. This chapter will explore some of the aspects of that culture.

Questions?