2.2 Criteria for Story Selection
4 min read•july 30, 2024
Journalists use specific criteria to decide which stories make the news. These news values include , , , , , , and . Editors balance these factors to select stories that will engage and inform their audience.
Understanding news is crucial for aspiring journalists. By mastering these principles, you'll learn to identify newsworthy stories and create compelling content that resonates with readers. This skill is essential for success in the fast-paced world of modern journalism.
Criteria for News Selection
Core News Values and Selection Process
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- News values serve as criteria for journalists and editors to determine story
- Primary news values include timeliness, proximity, prominence, impact, conflict, human interest, and novelty
- filters and selects stories based on established criteria and other factors
- balances different criteria when selecting stories
- structure organizes news stories, presenting crucial information first
- News organizations develop specific guidelines reflecting their audience and editorial focus
- Newsworthiness evolves based on , societal trends, and
Editorial Considerations and Structural Elements
- Specific organizational policies influence the story selection process
- Guidelines often reflect preferences and editorial priorities
- Editors must balance multiple criteria when choosing stories for publication
- Story structure (inverted pyramid) impacts how information is presented to readers
- Cultural context and current events shape perceptions of newsworthiness
- Editorial teams must stay attuned to shifting societal trends and
- Regular review and adaptation of selection criteria ensure relevance in changing media landscape
Importance of Timeliness, Proximity, Prominence, and Impact
Key Criteria Definitions and Applications
- Timeliness measures event recency and relevance to current news cycle
- often takes precedence due to high timeliness value
- (elections, natural disasters) receive priority coverage
- Proximity considers geographical and cultural closeness to the audience
- typically receives higher priority in regional publications
- Cultural proximity can make distant events relevant to specific communities
- Prominence involves fame, influence, or notability of individuals or organizations
- Stories featuring well-known figures (celebrities, politicians) often gain traction
- or companies may receive more coverage due to their influence
- Impact measures event significance and potential
- Stories affecting large populations (policy changes, economic shifts) score high on impact
- of events factor into impact assessment
Interplay and Balancing of Criteria
- Criteria often interact and overlap in complex ways
- Stories scoring high in multiple areas more likely to be selected for coverage
- Relative importance of each criterion varies by news organization focus and medium
- Print media may prioritize in-depth analysis of high-impact stories
- Broadcast news often emphasizes timeliness and visual appeal
- Online platforms balance immediacy with ongoing story development
- Balancing criteria creates well-rounded news reports that inform and engage audiences
- Editors must weigh competing stories based on alignment with selection criteria
- Consideration of audience interests and needs influences criteria application
Applying News Selection Criteria
Real-World Analysis and Prioritization
- Analyze current events through news values lens to determine newsworthiness
- Examine breaking news for timeliness, impact, and prominence factors
- Assess ongoing stories for continued relevance and developments
- Prioritize competing stories based on alignment with key selection criteria
- Create ranking systems to compare stories across multiple news values
- Consider editorial priorities and audience expectations in decision-making
- Recognize potential in story selection process
- Strive for balanced representation of diverse perspectives and topics
- Implement to mitigate personal or organizational biases
- Adapt selection strategies for different news platforms
- Tailor story choices to suit print, broadcast, online, and social media formats
- Consider platform-specific audience behaviors and preferences
Ethical Considerations and Long-Term Planning
- Consider long-term implications and follow-up potential of stories
- Identify stories with ongoing relevance or potential for development
- Plan for continued coverage of significant events or issues
- Evaluate ethical implications of story selection
- Address privacy concerns and potential consequences of publication
- Balance public interest against potential harm or exploitation
- Develop news sense through practice in applying selection criteria
- Engage in regular discussions and critiques of story selection decisions
- Analyze successful and unsuccessful story choices to refine judgment
- Anticipate audience reactions and engagement with selected stories
- Use analytics and feedback to inform future selection decisions
- Balance audience interests with to inform
Key Terms to Review (29)
AP Style: AP Style, or Associated Press Style, is a standardized writing style used primarily in journalism and news writing that emphasizes clarity, brevity, and consistency. This style helps writers maintain objectivity in reporting and ensures that news stories are easily understood by a broad audience, guiding writers in grammar, punctuation, and formatting.
Audience Engagement: Audience engagement refers to the ways in which media and journalists connect with their audience, encouraging interaction, participation, and emotional investment in the content being presented. This connection is essential for understanding the audience's needs, preferences, and reactions, ultimately driving the relevance and impact of news stories. Effective audience engagement fosters loyalty and trust, which are critical for a successful media organization.
Audience interests: Audience interests refer to the preferences, values, and concerns of a specific group of readers or viewers that influence the types of stories that are selected and presented. Understanding what captures the audience's attention is crucial for effective storytelling, as it helps journalists determine which topics will resonate most and maintain engagement. This awareness shapes content and presentation strategies, ensuring that the news remains relevant and impactful.
Bias: Bias refers to an inclination or prejudice for or against a particular viewpoint, person, or group that can affect the objectivity of reporting. In news writing, bias can manifest through the selection of sources, framing of stories, and language choices, ultimately influencing how information is presented to the audience. Recognizing bias is crucial for maintaining fairness and accuracy in journalism.
Breaking news: Breaking news refers to urgent, important information that is reported as it unfolds, often interrupting regular programming to provide immediate updates. It captures significant events that require rapid dissemination to inform the public, and the structure of these reports can vary based on the nature of the story and the need for timely information.
Checks and balances: Checks and balances is a system that ensures no single branch of government becomes too powerful by giving each branch some measure of oversight or control over the other branches. This principle promotes accountability and limits the power of each branch, fostering a balance that is crucial for a functional democracy. It reinforces the idea that authority should be distributed to prevent abuse and maintain a fair governing process.
Conflict: Conflict refers to a struggle or clash between opposing forces, ideas, or interests that generates tension and drama, often making it a central element in news stories. In journalism, conflict is crucial as it not only engages audiences but also highlights important societal issues and differing viewpoints. The presence of conflict can transform mundane events into compelling narratives, making them more likely to be selected for coverage.
Cultural context: Cultural context refers to the social, historical, and cultural environment that shapes the creation, interpretation, and reception of a story. It includes factors such as traditions, values, beliefs, and norms that influence how stories are told and understood within a specific community or society.
Current events: Current events refer to the ongoing news stories and issues that are happening at the present time, capturing public interest and influencing society. They encompass a wide range of topics, including politics, economics, social issues, and international affairs, and are crucial for understanding the world around us. Current events help shape public discourse and can impact decision-making at individual, community, and governmental levels.
Editorial judgment: Editorial judgment refers to the decision-making process involved in selecting, prioritizing, and shaping news stories for publication. It involves assessing the newsworthiness of events, determining which stories align with the publication's mission, and evaluating audience interest. Effective editorial judgment ensures that the most relevant and impactful stories reach readers while maintaining journalistic integrity.
Ethical considerations: Ethical considerations refer to the moral principles and guidelines that inform decision-making in journalism, ensuring that news is reported responsibly and with integrity. They play a vital role in shaping how information is presented, ensuring that accuracy, fairness, and respect for individuals' rights are upheld. This concept is crucial across various aspects of journalism, influencing how stories are packaged, integrated with multimedia content, catered to evolving audience habits, and selected for coverage.
Gatekeeping: Gatekeeping refers to the process through which information is filtered and selected for dissemination to the public by media professionals. This process determines what news stories are presented, shaping public perception and influencing what is considered important or newsworthy. It involves the criteria and values that journalists use to decide which events or issues will be reported on, thus directly impacting the flow of information in society.
Human Interest: Human interest refers to the storytelling aspect of news that highlights the emotions, experiences, and personal stories of individuals or communities. It draws readers in by connecting them to relatable human experiences, often focusing on themes of struggle, triumph, and resilience, making the news feel more personal and engaging.
Impact: Impact refers to the significance and influence a news story has on its audience and society as a whole. It encompasses the potential consequences of an event or issue, including how it resonates with the public, shapes opinions, and drives discussions. Understanding impact is crucial for evaluating news values, structuring stories effectively, crafting engaging headlines, selecting relevant stories, and making informed editorial decisions.
Inverted Pyramid: The inverted pyramid is a writing style often used in journalism where the most important information is presented at the beginning of the story, followed by supporting details and background information. This structure allows readers to quickly grasp the main points of the news, which is especially useful in today's fast-paced media environment.
Journalistic responsibility: Journalistic responsibility refers to the ethical obligation of journalists to report news accurately, fairly, and impartially while serving the public interest. This means ensuring that information is verified, sources are credible, and the potential impact of the reporting is considered. It also involves recognizing the power of the media in shaping public perception and understanding.
Journalistic standards: Journalistic standards refer to the ethical principles and guidelines that journalists adhere to in their reporting and storytelling. These standards ensure accuracy, fairness, transparency, and accountability in news coverage, which are essential for maintaining public trust and credibility in the media. A strong foundation of journalistic standards helps shape the criteria for story selection, as reporters must evaluate whether a story meets these benchmarks before pursuing it.
Local news: Local news refers to coverage of events, issues, and stories that are specific to a particular community or region. It often focuses on the daily lives of residents, highlighting local politics, schools, businesses, and events that directly impact the community, making it essential for fostering civic engagement and awareness among the populace.
Long-term implications: Long-term implications refer to the potential consequences or effects that a particular event or decision may have over an extended period. These implications often extend beyond immediate outcomes and can influence various aspects of society, culture, and politics for years or even decades.
Newsworthiness: Newsworthiness refers to the qualities or characteristics that make a story relevant and important enough to be reported by the media. It involves various factors like timeliness, significance, proximity, and human interest that help journalists decide what news to cover and how to present it. Understanding newsworthiness is crucial for making ethical decisions, crafting engaging narratives, and distinguishing journalism from other forms of communication.
Novelty: Novelty refers to the quality of being new, original, or unique, particularly in the context of news reporting. It plays a crucial role in determining what stories capture public attention and interest, as people are naturally drawn to information that presents something different or unexpected. This quality helps to set apart stories that might otherwise blend into the background noise of everyday life.
Prominence: Prominence refers to the significance or importance of a person, event, or issue in the news. It plays a key role in determining how much attention a story will receive, as well as its placement and prominence in a news outlet. The more prominent something is, the more likely it is to be covered, impacting how stories are selected and how editors make decisions about what to feature.
Prominent institutions: Prominent institutions are significant organizations, entities, or establishments that hold considerable influence within society, often shaping public opinion, policy, and culture. These institutions can include government bodies, media outlets, educational organizations, and religious entities, each playing a vital role in the information landscape and societal norms.
Proximity: Proximity refers to the geographical closeness of an event or issue to a specific audience, making it more relevant and impactful for them. When something occurs nearby, it tends to attract more attention because people feel a direct connection or concern. This sense of immediacy can shape the perception of newsworthiness and significantly influence how stories are selected and prioritized in media coverage.
Selection Criteria: Selection criteria are the specific standards and factors used by journalists and editors to determine which stories are newsworthy and should be reported. These criteria help in assessing the relevance, impact, and interest of a story, guiding decision-making in news coverage and ensuring that significant events reach the audience.
Societal consequences: Societal consequences refer to the effects that events, decisions, or actions have on society as a whole. These consequences can be positive or negative and often influence social behavior, public opinion, and policy-making. Understanding societal consequences is crucial when selecting stories, as journalists must consider how their reporting may impact communities and shape societal narratives.
Target audience: The target audience refers to a specific group of people that content creators aim to reach and influence with their messages. Understanding the target audience is crucial for effective communication, as it guides the tone, style, and information presented in news stories, ensuring relevance and engagement for readers. This understanding also informs how information is structured, selected, and researched to resonate with the intended demographic.
Time-sensitive stories: Time-sensitive stories are news articles that are based on events or situations that are currently happening or have just occurred, making them relevant and urgent for immediate reporting. These stories often include breaking news, urgent updates, or reports that are closely tied to specific timeframes, and they highlight the importance of delivering information promptly to the audience. The immediacy of these stories can significantly impact the public's understanding of ongoing events and influence their reactions.
Timeliness: Timeliness refers to the relevance and urgency of news content, emphasizing the importance of reporting events while they are still fresh and relevant to the audience. This principle plays a crucial role in how news is prioritized and disseminated, impacting ethical standards, news values, and editorial decisions.