What makes a story newsworthy? Newsworthy stories must be new, interesting, significant, and involve people. Similarly, news values can differ between different places. For instance, a coup d’etat in your own country is huge news. But if it takes place in a neighboring country, it may have a lesser impact on your own country’s stability. This article will provide some guidelines to evaluate news. It will also discuss different formats and sources.
Content
The Content of News: How do we determine what is news? Traditionally, news has been crafted to inform the public about crime, conflict, and disasters. More recently, news has evolved to include celebrity-related topics, cults of personality, and more. Traditional journalistic practices such as separating content into factual reports and opinion have largely been abandoned, but some creative authorship has been encouraged. The most popular types of news are:
Sources
News is widely available from many sources. The media regularly covers news from the offices of government departments and ministries, fire stations, hospitals, and other organizations. Press conferences are also common, as are press releases. Other news sources include newspapers, televisions, and press releases. Even police and fire departments are considered news sources, as are various institutions, such as airports, schools, and railway stations. News reporters often visit these locations in order to gain inside information on important events.
Formats
The new AP format has been developed in conjunction with the nonprofit Media Standards Trust, whose mission is to support high journalistic standards. The new format could allow web portals to sort articles by copyright terms and allow readers to search more comprehensively for specific types of news. The AP is already testing the new format on its own stories. It hopes to eventually make it a standard format that other news organizations will adopt. Here are some examples of new news article formats.
Bias
We can tell when an article is biased because the reporter only gives the side of the story that supports their own beliefs. This bias is more prevalent with entire corporations, whereby news broadcasters focus on stories that support their beliefs and ignore stories that might sway readers to the opposite side. The stories selected will usually reflect the right or left-wing way of thinking. However, we can’t always know which sources are biased, since many people are guilty of forming their opinions based on the opinions of others.
Ethics
The ethical standards for journalists were established generations ago in old-school media. Today, the role of a journalist is to maintain fact and the truth in a landscape where opinion often outweighs facts. The panellists at the conference discussed the need to uphold journalistic ethics in a world where journalists are under more pressure to make a hit and go viral than to provide accurate news. In addition, privacy is often thrown to the wind, and some journalists might breach the confidentiality of their sources.
Impact
In times of crisis, people seek out news and information to reduce uncertainty and increase feelings of safety. As such, they may turn to news media as a source of comfort and distraction. But, research has found a relationship between news and distress, and the likelihood of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. While the effects of news consumption on mental health vary greatly, exposure to distressing news can be detrimental. This article reviews a recent study to determine the potential impacts of news on mental health.
Timeliness
One of the most important requirements for news is timeliness. This means the news is delivered at a timely moment in time, and most news stories include words such as “today” and “tomorrow” in their titles. People want to know the implications of events in the present, and what those consequences may mean for them tomorrow. Similarly, they want to know how a particular story will affect the lives of others.
Bias in reporting
The media’s tendency to be biased toward liberal views is no secret. A 1986 study co-authored by political scientists found that most journalists at major media outlets were Democratic and had attitudes on hot-button social issues to the left of the general public. But what is the source of such bias? And how can we tell whether our news outlets are biased? There are many factors that influence the way our news is reported. This article will outline some of the most common factors.