what makes a news story?
DESCRIPTION
This training module has been written for journalism students preparing for a career in the media. It is written using material from The News Manual and Media Helping Media.TRANSCRIPT
WHAT IS NEWS?Journalism basics
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Audience identification
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What is news?
The appeal of local news is that your readers or listeners might know the people or places involved and may identify with events
People can identify with stories about other people like themselves
Stories which many can identify with are stronger than those which apply to a few
Closeness Personal impact
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News sources
Information from press officers and public relations officers are a steady source of information
Part of your job as a journalist is to sort out what is informative from the millions of boring words you are sent
Material we are given Which we have to assess
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News sources
There is also news which journalists find for themselves and reveal to the public
This need not be a subject which somebody wants to be kept secret
Many people have a story to tell
It’s part of your job as a journalist to find these people and report their stories
Material we find Which we have to explain
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News sources
Wars, strikes, revolutions, political power battles
All are important topics that we must explore and explain
We need to help the audience understand the underlying issues
Conflicts Which we have to understand
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News sources
Air crashes, train crashes, ships sinking, volcanic eruptions, Tsunamis, earthquakes
Human tragedies such as children falling down deep wells from which they cannot be rescued
Disaster and tragedy Sensitivity needed
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News sources
How changes affect people's lives, for better or for worse
New ideas or progress in one area may mean less progress in another
Our job as journalists is to find out and explain to the audience
Progress & development No free PR
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News sources
Crime is news, whether it is a road traffic offence, break and enter, corruption, forgery, rape or murder
More serious crimes or unusual crimes generally make bigger news stories
But we must always avoid sensationalising and must ensure that we just deliver facts and not write drama
Crime Innocent until proven guilty
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News sources
Fortunes made and lost Taxes and budgets Food prices Wage rises It is not only large sums
of money which make news
Struggling to live is a major source of important news stories
Money Who is paying whom?
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News sources
The journalist should give voice to the voiceless the innocent
against false charges
the poor against exploitation
The underdog Voice to the voiceless
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News sources
Events involving religious lives, such as festivals and new buildings
Statements by religious leaders
The things the public do as part of their beliefs
How religion impacts on society
Religion Understand tolerance
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News sources
Prominent men and women make news
What people in the public eye do, the lives they lead and what they look like, are all of interest
But we must never simply write stories about prominent people for the sake of it
We must always explore the news angle
Famous people Privacy issues
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News sources
Disease, outbreaks, cures, research, all make news stories
Advice on drugs, diet and exercise are also of interest to the public
We need to be covering the health issues that concern the audience
Health Public information
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News sources
All societies are interested in sex, even if they do not talk about it openly.
Many news stories about sex involve behaviour which goes outside society's generally accepted standards.
Sex Public information
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News sources
The weather may affect the daily routine of people
It’s of interest when it’s unusual with exceptionally high or low temperatures, or exceptionally high or low rainfall
We need to look for the stories where the weather has caused personal and social disruption
Weather Public information
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News sources
Shortages in the food supply
Failure of crops and poor harvests
The price of food A visit to the market
will always produce a news story
Food and drink Public information
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News sources
Stories about music, dance, theatre and cinema
The lives of celebrities always interest the audience
However we must ensure that there is an editorial justification in covering these stories and ask ...
“is it in the public interest?”
Entertainment Public information
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News sources
Sports news, results, player transfers, statistics
Many people will choose a radio or TV station or select a newspaper based on its sports coverage
If your coverage is good you need to reflect the top stories from that coverage in your bulletins and on your front page
Sport
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News sources
Unusual and interesting aspects of other people's lives which are not particularly significant to society as a whole
Stories about these are called human interest stories
The audience likes them because they make them smile and can be a nice distraction from the harder news
Human interest
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News sources
If it is not new or unusual
If it is not interesting or significant
If it will not affect your readers‘ lives
Then it is not news Do not publish it as
news
The news test We only deal in news
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What is news?
The module uses material from The News Manual
Media Helping Media has been given permission to publish edited highlights of some basic training modules
Using some material from The News Manual
http://www.thenewsmanual.net/
The source of the following material in this module
Media Helping Media