Elements of News Values
There are almost as many answers to definition of news as there are editors and reporters. In fact, no uniformly satisfactory definition has been found. However, it is a given in most city rooms that news is what the editor says it is.
News has a broadly agreed set of values, often referred to as news values. News values, sometimes called news criteria, determine how much prominence a news story is given by a media outlet, and the attention it is given by the audience.
To be effective, a reporter simply has to understand the theories and concepts of how news is gathered and written as well as the particular role the media plays in a community. While there may be no definitive definition of news, there is a body of knowledge dealing with writing and presenting news that every reporter should master. Most journalists agree that the following eight elements make up what is considered “news”.
Timeliness, freshness
The first element is reporting something that has just happened or is about to happen. Time is a strong ingredient, “today, yesterday, early this morning, tomorrow”. The newness of the occurrence makes up “immediacy”, “timeliness” in the news.
Nearness, proximity
Some facts and occurrences are important to you personally, such as inflation, and the Iraq situation particularly if one of the hostages is someone you know or a family member of a close friend.
Some events are less important when it occurs across town. The question most asked by journalists is: “If this happened outside my immediate area, my city, my province, would I be interested in reading about it?” Keeping this question in mind is particularly important to the reporter. You must examine your story to see if indeed it would interest other readers.
Prominence
Prominence as a news element is well-known to most of us. The public figures, holders of public office, those who stimulate our curiosity, people in positions of influence all enjoy news prominence. For your visitor or speaker to qualify for news prominence, he or she must be well enough known to command the attention of readers either by reputation or by the nature of the topic to be discussed.
Unusualness, oddity
Oddity is often news. The bizarre, the unusual, the unexpected often make news. Generally those people who perform striking feats in emergency situations are news, such as a woman lifting an automobile off her child, travelling around the world in a sailboat, unusual recycling methods, and use of materials in a different way. In journalism, oddity is defined as the “man bites dog” formula. That certainly makes the “news”.
Conflict
Conflict is one element most observed with the clash of ideologies, even worldwide. Although most businesses and organizations shy away from the reporting of conflict, it is understandable that this element is firmly based in the news formula.
Suspense
Suspense creates and expands news appeal. The outcome of the Iranian hostages is suspenseful news. For the most part, organizations would rarely experience this type of circumstance.
Emotion, human interest
Emotion is a news element commonly called “human interest” stories that stir our recognition of the basic needs both psychological and physical. Stories that prompt the reader toward sympathy, anger or other emotions in all their variety are commonly handled in feature-type stories. Organizations should be alert to the possibilities of “human interest” stories.
Consequence, impact or significance
The last element of news, consequence, is more difficult to explain, but generally for a story to have consequence it must be important to a great number of readers. It must have some impact for the reader. Such news will affect him or her in some personal way. The safety of the city’s drinking water or the dumping of toxic wastes into rivers will be examined from the standpoint of consequence now and in the future. Thus it becomes an important news story.
From this discussion of news story elements, it becomes clear that a reporter should have these guidelines in mind when he or she is deciding if a message is news or an announcement and whether it’s a feature or an item of limited public interest. From this a reporter decides which format to use for distributing the information and the medium that is most likely to use your information.
Words & Expressions
immediacy：即时
locality：邻近
proximity：接近
bizarre：稀奇古怪的
oddity：奇异，古怪