DEFINITIONAND

ELEMENTS OF

WHAT IS NEWS? Difficult to define, as it has many variables

Your role as a journalist is therefore to determine what’s news worthy before deciding to report it as news

‘second-hand information’, therefore must be factual [ In 2003 Brian Walski, L.A. Times Journalist fired for manipulating images during Iraq War]

NEWS: DEFINED

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines “news” as,

•“1 a: a report of recent events b: previously unknown information

• 2 a: material reported in a newspaper or news periodical or on a newscast b: matter that is newsworthy

• 3 a: newscast.”

WHAT IS NEWS?

• Based on actual occurrences, situations, thoughts and ideas

• Yet all facts are not considered to be news

‘Dog Bites a Man’ Is Not News‘Man Bites a Dog’ Is News… WHY?

ELEMENTS OF NEWS

• As your role as a journalist it is important to know

• Criteria (s) used for determining a given situation as newsworthy

ELEMENTS OF NEWS: TIMELINESS

•Most recent aspect of the event

•What can we tell our readers that they don’t know already?

•E.g. Consider the recent run of on-going political instability in Bangladesh

UN wants stability in Bangladesh

Reiterating its concern at the ongoing violent demonstration, the Untied Nations says it is committed to stability and positive development of Bangladesh. In a briefing in New York on Wednesday, the UN secretary-general's spokesperson described Bangladesh as a critical partner of the United Nations in many areas."Obviously, I think, as we've said here a number of times, we are very much concerned about the violence and the loss of life that's occurred in Bangladesh since the beginning of last year," said Stéphane Dujarric.

Source : (Feb 12, 2015) UN wants stability in Bangladesh. Prothom Alo.

ELEMENTS OF NEWS: PROXIMITY

•The closer an event is to the audience, the more important it becomes

•People like to read what is related to them and their day to day life, rather than what is far away from them

Plan to build software export zone in Dhaka

Prime Minister’s ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy said the government would establish Software Export Zone (SEZ) in Dhaka.He said it is to ensure 1% of the country’s GDP coming from its ICT sector.Sajeeb was presenting the keynote paper at a ministerial conference at the country’slargest technology fair “Digital World 2015” yesterday. “We have done remarkably well in different fields of ICT in the past couple years as the present governmentdeclared the Vision-2021 of building Digital Bangladesh by 2021,” he said. Source: Islam, S.Z. (2015, February 12) Plan to build software export zone in Dhaka. Dhaka Tribune

ELEMENTS OF NEWS: CONFLICT

• The clash of opinions, attitudes, values as well as the struggle to survive the pressures of daily life

• Sad to say, but bad news is often more newsworthy than good news

• When war breaks out, it is more newsworthy than when neighbouring countries get along

Ukraine conflict: Crucial summit goes through the night

The Russian and Ukrainian presidents have been meeting all night in Belarus to try to secure a peace deal. Few details have emerged about their four-way meeting with the leaders of France and Germany. But a Ukrainian presidential aide posted on Facebook that there was a battle of nerves.

Before the talks began, the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said achieving a ceasefire was essential. Thousands of people have been killed in the fighting in the east of Ukraine.

Source: BBC News Europe (2015, 12 February) Ukraine conflict: Crucial summit goes through the night

ELEMENTS OF NEWS: PROMINENCE

•People in positions of authority

•People in high-ranking positions are more likely to get coverage than ordinary citizens

•You might not agree with their opinions but when U.S. president Barack Obama expresses his opinion you listen

Islamic State will lose, says Obama

President Barack Obama has said Islamic State (IS) militants "will lose" as he asks Congress to formally authorise military force against them."Our coalition is on the offensive. Isil [IS] is on the defensive, and Isil is going to lose," he said.

Source: (2015, February 11) Islamic State will lose, says Obama. BBC World

ELEMENTS OF NEWS: IMPACT

• Newsworthiness reflects an evaluation of how many people's lives will be influenced in a good or bad way.

• In other words, the more people a story might affect, the more newsworthy it is.

20-party threatens shutdown from Sunday

The BNP-led 20-party alliance has threatened to go for all-out movement including hartal alongside the countrywide blockade from Sunday if the government does not meet its demand.The alliance will also hold demonstrations in all upazila, municipality, district and city headquarters on Saturday demanding a fresh election under a non party administration.

Source: The Daily Star Online Report (2015, February 15) 20-party threatens shutdown from Sunday

ELEMENTS OF NEWS: HUMAN INTEREST

• Human interest stories appeal to emotion

• Events and people that the reader can recognize

• Television news programs often place a humorous or quirky story at the end of the show to finish on a feel-good note

• Newspapers often have a dedicated area for offbeat or interesting items.

The 'inspirational' teen singer with Down's syndrome A Canadian teenager who was born with Down's syndrome has become a hit on YouTube after recording a cover version of a John Legend song.Madison Tevlin's rendition of "All of Me" has been watched almost 5 million times and has been described as "inspirational" and "amazing.”

Source: BBC World (2015, February 5) The 'inspirational' teen singer with Down's syndrome

Journalism and Its Audience

JOURNALISTS AND THEIR AUDIENCE: A CHANGING RELATIONSHIP?

• Newer practices: increasing use of social media tools and writing in an online environment

• Journalism now more engaging

• Constructive journalism- ‘helps engage the audience’

Constructive Journalism

• Built on the basis that people want more from the news they consume

• Studies show that stories which explore solutions to problems rather than just the problems themselves prompt audiences to engage with the news and share content

Video: Positive News-People of London- Constructive Journalism