Elements of News

Ryan McCallumBuffalo High SchoolBuffalo, Minnesota

Some information provided by the Journalism Department of the Richardson Independent

School District of Richardson, Texas.

What is News?

• News is timely information of interest to many people.

Note: If it interests many people, it’s news, even if it doesn’t interest you.

Elements of News

• 1. Timeliness• News has a shelf life. It spoils if kept too

long. • Ask yourself: Did this story happen

recently enough that people will still be interested in it?

Vikings 28, Broncos 20 Example

Elements of News

• 2. Consequence• News affects people. It impacts their

lives. • Ask yourself: To what degree will

people’s lives change when they read this story?

ExampleStudent raped in dorm at Concordia University in St. Paul

Elements of News

• 3. Proximity• News value increases when the event

takes place nearer to the reader. Proximity can be geographical or emotional.

• Ask yourself: Is this story near or dear to my readers?

ExampleStudent raped in dorm at Concordia University in St. Paul

Zero-tolerance gun policy runs counter to gun-safety classes at

school • WINONA, MINN. -- When Nick Ziegeweid signed up for

a firearms safety course at Winona Middle School earlier this fall, he was told to bring his shotgun. Better to learn how to handle the equipment he'd use when hunting than to have an instructor show him how to handle a gun he'd never seen.

• But when the 12-year-old boy attended his first class Oct. 11, school administrators and instructors met him and about 40 other students outside the school to remind them they couldn't bring their guns inside.

Elements of News

• 4. Conflict• Good news stories involve drama of some

sort. Typical conflict schemes include people against people, people against nature, and people against themselves.

• Ask yourself: Does this story have a sense of drama produced by some sort of conflict?

Blaine stunt has taken its toll

• LONDON, England (CNN) -- With less than a day remaining in his starvation stunt, illusionist David Blaine is said to be suffering from palpitations and breathing difficulties.

Elements of News

• 5. Names• People like to read about people they

know or know of, especially if those people are themselves.

• Ask yourself: Is this story about someone many people know, or could it include quotes from people that are well known?

Pop-star Prince has become a Jehovah's Witness

• POP star Prince is banging on people’s front doors — after becoming a Jehovah’s Witness.

• The pint-sized singer tries to recruit people to the religion by calling on homes in his spare time.

Elements of News

• 6. Variety• News often involves a deviation from

the norm. People would rather read about the unexpected than about routine events.

• Ask yourself: Is the subject of this story extraordinary or unexpected?

White Knoll HS student says he was forced to leave stadium in

underpants after quitting

• (Lexington-AP) Oct. 16, 2003 - The lawyer for a White Knoll High School football player in Lexington says an assistant coach and school resource officer forced the 16-year-old boy to leave Friday's game without his pants and shoes.

• The Lexington County Sheriff's Department and Lexington School District One officials are investigating what happened after junior Steven Deangelis quit the team during a dispute with coaches in the fourth quarter.

Elements of News

• 7. Human Interest• People identify with stories that involve

them emotionally. They like to read stories that make them sentimental, nostalgic, sympathetic, etc.

• Ask yourself: Will this story involve my reader on an emotional level?

A year later, Senate is a different place without Wellstone

• WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Capitol Hill, the letters keep coming for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone.

• Jeffrey Levensaler, Wellstone's former office manager and deputy chief of staff, opens them at his condo after he leaves work. Unpaid bills. Correspondence from the Department of Defense. Cards for the senator's sons, David and Mark. Letters trying to influence votes, including a recent inquiry asking why Wellstone still wants to tax estates.

Elements of News

• 8. Humor• People like to laugh. A story that finds

humor in an otherwise gloomy, mundane world will attract their interest.

• Ask yourself: Is there appropriate humor to be found in this story?

80-year-old Belgian woman knocks rat unconscious

• BRUSSELS, Oct. 16 — A supermarket rat who had dodged a host of poison traps got its come-uppance when an 80-year-old shopper knocked it unconscious after it tried to steal her cheese, a Belgian daily said on Thursday.        The rat had been hiding in the supermarket for a month, but staff attempts to trap the rodent had repeatedly failed.

• 9. Progress• People like to read stories about new or

changing technology or other developments and how they affect their lives.

• Ask yourself: Does/could this information affect the lives of my readers?

The Car/Home MP3 80 GB Music System

• Music lovers listen up! The Holy Grail of all music systems has arrived. Store all your music on this device, then listen to it wherever you go! The Car/Home MP3 80 GB Music System allows you to store up to 20,000 songs and transfer them between your home and car effortlessly.

• 10. Drama• People like to read stories about

dramatic and situations.• Ask yourself: Does this story contain

details that would excite or energize the audience?

Jail Escapee Spotted on Side of Road, Captured

• LIVINGSTON, La.  — One of two men who escaped from jail by slipping under the chain-link fence and then scaling a ladder over razor wire was captured Sunday after a motorist spotting him walking along a highway. The second escaped inmate remained at large.

Elements of News

• 1. Timeliness• 2. Consequence• 3. Proximity• 4. Conflict• 5. Names

• 6. Variety• 7. Human Interest• 8. Humor• 9. Progress• 10. Drama

Elements of News

• Notes:• Not all stories will contain all elements, but the more

elements they contain, the more newsworthy they are.

• Elements 1-4 are hard news elements. If your story contains these elements primarily, it is a hard news story.

• Elements 5-10 are soft news elements. If your story contains only these elements primarily, it is a soft news (feature) story.