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1. AQA Exam Topic 2015
Lesson 1
Big Question – What makes the news?

2. On your desk, you have two colours of post-it notes:
- Use the pink ones to write facts that you are sure
of.
- Use the yellow ones to write questions or things
which you believe to be true but are not sure of.
BrainTicker
Purpose ofTask :
Establishing prior knowledge –What
do we already know?
What do y0u know aboutTV News?
Who? What? Why? Where?When? How?

3. What makes
something news
worthy?

4. L.O: Revise what makes a story news worthy
for inclusion in aTV news broadcast
All: Will identify at least one reason why a story may be
considered “news worthy”.
Most:Will be able to explain why a story may be news
worthy using Galtung and Ruge’s “news values” theory.
Some: Will plan a news broadcast with a specific target
target audience in mind considering elements of Galtung
and Ruge’s “news values” theory.

5. The term “news worthy” simply means
that an event is worthy of coverage in the
press – this could be through any of the
different media platforms:
PRINT - newspapers, magazines
BROADCAST – radio, television
E-MEDIA – websites, online newspapers
What is News Worthiness?

6. On the following slide are a selection of fictional
headlines. Which of these stories do you believe
should be / are covered on a national TV news?
You have a sheet on which to record your initial
thoughts –
working in pairs, give reasons for and against each
story being covered on NATIONAL NEWS
In pairs:

7. Headline
Is this worthy of TV news coverage?
Arguments for
inclusion in TV News
Broadcast
Arguments against
inclusion in TV News
Broadcast
Woman has baby
The baby might have
something different
about it – for example
it is really big. Giant
baby!
Women have babies
all of the time –
nothing special.
Example

8. British Soldiers leave
Afghanistan

9. Of the six stories discussed so far – list them in order
of importance with the most important being first and
the least important last. Justify your decisions.
Order of importance
Woman has baby!
Nurse is
quarantined
.
Volcano Erupts in Hawaii
Men and women in sport
don’t get paid the same.
Jogger bumps into
man on street
British Soldiers leave
Afghanistan

10. We are going to look at extracts from three
television news shows.
Television News
For each extract:
• List the stories which are trailed in the opening of the show.
Then:
• Focus on the opening story –What is it? How is the story
conveyed to the audience?
Try to use some of the following keywords: Anchor,
Correspondent, mise-en-scene

11. Theories on the news
How far do these rules apply to the lead
stories covered on the three news
programmes we have studied?

12. NewsValues
Quick Quiz
1. Institution –Who makes the decision as to which news stories
are included in a news broadcast?
2. Institution –Which other organisations are BBC News (for
example) in competition with ? Consider all three media
platforms (print, broadcast and e-media)

13. Galtung And Ruge – News
values
• Meaningfulness
• Reference to the elite (nations and
people)
• Consonance (willingness to report )
• Continuity
• Composition (of the news broadcast)
One of the best known lists of news values was drawn up by
media researchers Johan Galtung and Marie Holmboe Ruge.
They analysed international news stories to find out what
factors they had in common, and what factors placed them
at the top of the news agenda worldwide.
• Threshold
• Frequency
• Negativity
• Unexpectedness
• Unambiguity
• Personalisation

14. • You are an editor for a news programme aimed at a teenage
audience (13-18). On the 11th March the stories that have
come in to you are those used, highlighted and trailed in the
two shows we have studied (those that are on your sheet).
• Use Galtung and Ruge’s “News Values” to justify which story
you think should be the lead one on your broadcast tonight.
Written Task
IN ROLE - Write a justification of between 150 and 300 words to
the senior news editor of the show explaining (Using Galtung
and Ruge’s ideas) why your story should be the lead on this
evening’s news broadcast.
Applying NewsValues

15. L.O: Revise what makes a story news worthy
for inclusion in aTV news broadcast
All: Will identify at least one reason why a story may be
considered “news worthy”.
Most:Will be able to explain why a story may be news
worthy using Galtung and Ruge’s “news values” theory.
Some: Will plan a news broadcast with a specific target
target audience in mind considering elements of Galtung
and Ruge’s “news values” theory.

16. Thinking Ahead
The top trending stories onTwitter on the 27th and 28th of October all
related to Robbie Williams sharing video and pictures of his wife’s labour
and the birth of their second child.
• Using Galtung and Ruge’s theory is this a Newsworthy story?
• The birth of the baby was covered on some serious news programmes
as the “and finally” item on the 28th October.Why?
LINKTO NEXT LESSON
• Where do you get most of your news from?
• Would you consider social networking a news source?