News Values

In continuation from ‘Agenda Setting’ (week nine), news values depicts the value that is put on news and how we value different types of news stories. News values indicate the ‘degree of prominence a media outlet gives to a story and the reciprocal attention that the audience pays to the media piece’.

The 12 factors of news worthiness –

1. Negativity

2. Closeness to home

3. Recent

4. Current

5. Continuity

6. Unique

7. Simplicity

8. Personality

9. Predictability

10. Elite nations or people

11. Exclusivity

12. Size

News values are determined through 1) Impact, 2) Audience Identification, 3) Pragmatics, and 4) source influence.

Three Hypothesis’ by Galtung and Ruge

1. Additively: the factors the event satisfies the higher the probability it becomes news.

2. Complementarity: factors will tend to include each other.

3. Exclusion: opposite of additively.

Threats to news worthiness

- Journalism and commercialisation of media

- Journalism and PR

- Journalism ideals and Journalism reality

ANY story with destruction or death will be the headliner in the news, whether it is print or electronic. Following death and destruction – “If it’s LOCAL, it leads”.