 Elements of News

 Introduction

Every day we are bombarded with too much of information about the
happenings in the world around us that if we sit to comprehend each of the
events will end up jumbling the events and fail to comprehend that piece of
news which is important for us.

So journalist is a man who comes to our rescue and structures we receive

sorted out and neatly packaged stories on the same day on radio, TV, online
or the next day in newspaper.

Now the question arises how do journalists decide what is news and what is
not news? How do they distinguish between big news and small one. It’s
simple they do it in exactly the same manner as everybody else. They follow
same instinct whenever one decides to talk about one event rather than
another.

 Elements of News

The major elements of good news reporting are:

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 Accuracy
Meaningf-
Speed
ulness

Cohesive-
Interest
ness

Elements
of News
Compreh- Reporting Newswor-
ensiveness thiness

Factuality Clarity

Objectivity Conciseness

1. Accuracy
 Accuracy is a journalistic proverb. News professional says “In case of doubt,
leave it out”. It means that if there is any doubt in facts, do not report, it is
better not to report than to report wrong.
 Check and double check your facts.
 Keep your opinion out of the story. When we report on what we think it is
“analysis” not news.
2. Speed: means rate at which something or someone moves to operate. A
good and accurate news report must be reported with speed. After accuracy
the speed comes. If you delay in reporting, someone else will report.
3. Interest: means holding the attention, share of involvement and attract the
people.
4. Newsworthiness: means to have something new for the target
readers/viewers.

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 5. Clarity: means the state or quality of being clear, distinct, understood or
perceived.
6. Conciseness: means giving information clearly and in few words.
7. Objectivity: means unbiased or not influenced by personal feelings or
opinion in considering and representing facts.
8. Factual: means that news report is based on facts and that cannot be
contradicted.
9. Comprehensiveness: means dealing with all aspects of news, a detailed
content covering all aspects of a news event or a personality.
10. Cohesiveness: means the act, process, or condition of cohering.
11. Meaningfulness: means that the news report has the value for
readers/viewers.
References

1. News Writing – George A. Hough

2. An Introduction to Journalism – Rubin, Ibbotson

3. Puri,G.K: A Complete Guide to Journalism for all

Suggested Further Reading

1. M.V. Kamath: Modern Journalism, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi

2. M.L. Stein and Susan F. Peterno : The News Writer’s Handbook, Surjeet
Publication, New Delhi.

Keywords

 Interest: means holding the attention, share of involvement and

attract the people.
 Newsworthiness: means to have something new for the target
readers/viewers

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 NEWS VALUE
6.1 Introduction

Journalists are the best judges about what news is and what is not. They take
this decision based on certain news values. The following are the salient
points to judge the newsworthiness.

6.2 News Value

News value is defined as characteristics of information that make an event or

subject news; they include timeliness, conflict, impact, currency, prominence,
proximity, and unusualness.

1. Timeliness: News is something new. So timeliness is a great factor in

deciding news. An incident that happened one month back will not make
news for today’s newspaper. Also timeliness varies from publication to
publication. For a newspaper, events that had happened on the previous
day is news. But for a weekly, events of the previous one week can make
news. For a 24-hour television news channel, every second is a deadline.
They can break the news anytime. So their timeliness is different from
that of a newspaper.
2. Impact: Impact of an event decides its newsworthiness. When the
tsunami waves struck several parts of the world, thousands of people
were affected. It became major news for the whole world. But if a cyclone
kills 20 people in Bangladesh, it may not have any impact on other parts
of the world. When dengue fever affects 100 people in Delhi, it makes
news not only in Delhi but in other states also because the impact is wider
and people become more alert about the news.

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3. Proximity: means nearness. Proximity is of two types physical and
emotional. “Bird flu spreading and hundreds of chicken dying in England”.
Does it make news for you? You may read it but do not worry about it. But
bird flu spreading in West Bengal will make you alert. This is because it is
in your proximity i.e. physical proximity. A plane crash in Peru will not be
big news in India, but if an aircraft crashes with Indians, it will be
headlines everywhere i.e. emotional proximity. So proximity decides the
news.

4. Controversy: People like controversies. Anything that is connected with

conflicts, arguments, charges and counter-charges, fights and tension
becomes news. All of you might have heard of Kargil. It was a conflict
between India and Pakistan. It became great news all over the world.
Many of you may remember the controversy about the Indian and

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 Australian cricket teams. It was news for all the media. When terrorists
crashed their plane into the World Trade Centre in New York it was lead
news everywhere.

5. Prominence: If a prominent person is involved in any event, it becomes

news. If an ordinary person’s car breaks down and he has to wait for ten
minutes on the roadside till the vehicle is repaired it makes no news. But
if the Prime Minister’s car breaks down and his motorcade has to stop for
five minutes it becomes news. A person visiting Rajghat and paying
homage to Gandhiji may not be a news item, but when the US President
visits Rajghat it becomes news.
6. Currency: News is about current events. Suppose the Olympic Games
are held in India. It becomes news because everybody is interested in it.
Likewise when SAARC leaders meet in Delhi to formulate future action
plans, it becomes the current news. Similarly, if extreme cold weather
continues for a week and fog disrupts air, rail and road traffic, it becomes
news.

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7. Oddity: Unusual things make news. Extraordinary and unexpected
events generate public interest. You might have seen box items in
newspapers about such happenings. A man pulls a car by his hair, a
woman gives birth to triplets, a singer enters the Guinness Book by
singing non-stop for 48 hours, and the painting of a famous artist is
auctioned for a very expensive price. All such odd stories evoke much
public interest.

8. Emotion: Stories of human interest make good news items. For example,
the police rescue a school boy kidnapped by mischief makers after a

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 search of two weeks. The parents meet the boy in an emotionally
surcharged atmosphere. The story of this meeting with a photograph
makes a good human interest report. Doctors advise a girl in Pakistan to
undergo a heart surgery urgently. But her parents cannot afford the
expenses. The Rotary Club of Delhi east offers help through their scheme
of ‘Gift of Life’. The girl comes to India and undergoes surgery
successfully. While going back she and her overwhelmed parents narrate
their experiences in India. This makes a good human interest story.
9. Usefulness: Sometimes news items help the public in various ways. You
must have noticed that weather forecasters warn fishermen not to go to
the sea for fishing on certain days because of rough weather. A
newspaper gives the phone numbers of police stations, hospitals,
ambulance services etc. to help people. You might have seen in
newspapers, requests from relatives to donors of blood for a patient in a
critical condition. Newspapers also raise funds from the public to help
victims of disasters and natural calamities, like tsunami and earthquake.
10. Educational value: News has also an educational value. In almost all
newspapers, you can find columns about educational and job
opportunities. These guide you about different educational courses,
career options available, opportunities for higher studies etc. These news
items help you become more knowledgeable.
11. Size: A bigger event gets more attention than a small one. The news
about the death of 50 passengers travelling in a city bus will be given
more attention than the news of a motorist accident on the highway.
12. News Policy: Every editor or owner of a newspaper sets a news policy or
editorial policy to follow. The importance of news is determined by this
policy. Thus News which strengthens news policy of newspapers will be
given an edge over News which negates or defeats the policy.
13. Progress: Involves any significant change for the betterment of mankind.