This document discusses what makes a story newsworthy and the criteria for determining if an event or situation qualifies as news. It introduces the concept of "news values" which are used to evaluate newsworthiness based on factors like proximity, timeliness, impact, prominence of individuals involved, conflict, variety, human interest, and humor. Specifically, it states that news values assess how close and recent an event was, how many people it affects, if famous people were involved, if it depicts conflict or drama, can be presented in multiple ways, interests human emotions, or has an entertaining secondary storyline. The document suggests that while a story need not have all news values, the combination of people, action, and reader interest are

1. What IS News?What makes an event or a situation newsworthy?

2. What IS News?Many more events occur and situations develop in the world each day than are reported by the news media. Answer this question thoughtfully on your paper: Why are some events and situations reported as news while others are not? What qualities make a story newsworthy?Suggest as many factors as you can. Explain why these factors define newsworthiness.

3. What IS News?What makes a news story different from a literary story? What makes a news story different from a history? News is often called "the first draft of history"-why? Why do people say that "dog bites man" is not news, but "man bites dog" is news?Under what circumstances would "dog bites man" become news?

4. What IS News?"News values" make stories newsworthy.News values are generally categorized according to the following eight criteria…

5. News Values/CriteriaNearness(How close was the event, situation, or revelation?) Timeliness(How recent was the event, situation, or revelation?) Importance(How many people are affected by the event, situation, or revelation?) Name recognition (Were famous or familiar people involved?) Drama or conflict (Do people's fortunes hang in the balance?) Variety (How many ways can the story be framed?) Human interest (HI) (How many types of readers find the story interesting?) Humor or entertainment (Barring some other strong emotional connection, is there a secondary story line that readers will find insightfully humorous?)

6. News Values/News CriteriaDoes a news story need to have to have all eight elements?

7. News Values/News CriteriaPeople + Action+ Reader Interest= News

8. News Values/CriteriaProceed with research on Handout 2