1. News values

2. Hard and soft news
 Hard news. Events that are timely and are
covered almost automatically by print and
electronic media. A speech by a ranking public
official or a natural disaster are examples.
 Soft news. Events that are usually not
considered immediately important to a wide
audience. Many of these still merit coverage. A
math fair at an elementary school would be an
example.

3. News values
 Timeliness
 Proximity
 Conflict or controversy
 Disaster or tragedy
 Eminence and Prominence
 Consequence and Impact
 Celebrity
 Human Interest
 Novelty – the weird factor
 Magnitude
 Currency
 Helpfulness
 Entertainment
 Special interest
 Cooperation/Consensus
 Common experience

4. You decide the front page
President tells crowd he saved Economy from disaster
Extolling female, subservience and adding followers in Egypt.
Court approves E-book price settlement
Child dies in crash on I-15
Catholic Bishop is guilty of trying to cover up abuse
Arizona immigration law survives ruling
A piece of NBA’s action..
Costs of long-term health care loom for seniors

5. Timeliness
 Is it a recent development, or is it old news?

6. Proximity
 Is the story relevant to local readers?

7. Conflict
 Is the issue developing, has it been resolved or
does anybody care?

8. Eminence and prominence
 Are noteworthy people involved? If so, that
makes the story more important.

9. Consequence and Impact
 What effect will the story have on readers?

10. Novelty/Weirdness
 Out of the ordinary. “Dog bites man” is not
news. “Man bites dog” is.

11. Human interest
 Even though it might not be an earth-shattering
event, does it contain unique, interesting
elements.
 You saw that in Avatar? Pass the glasses.
 Whittingham staying put: More offers for Ute
coach

12. Other factors
 Cycle
 Competition
 Availability
 The news hole
 Photography-graphics
 Instincts of editors
 The audience
 Philosophy of the
medium
 Influence of advertisers
 The news mix
 Changing demographics
 Los Angeles Times
 Safety
 Progeny
 Health