NATURE OF NEWS

News

The Chamber's Dictionary defines news as; information on recent event,

and current affairs, a report of recent event,'newly received information
something and had not heard before. Likewise William L.Rivers in his
book. The Mass Media says: News is the timely report of events, facts
and opinions that interests a significant number of people. The key words
are: "timely" and "interest a significant number". It is not enough that a
report be only timely; if it does not interest at least a large majority of its
potential audience, it is not news. Similarly, information that is only
cannot be considered news; it must have some element of
interesting
timelines.
"When a dog bites a man, that's not news. But when a man bites
a

editor of the NewYork

dog this is a news." It was John B.Bogart, city To some
Sun, who uttered this famous dictum more than a century ago.
extent it still stands true because news is often the account of somethingg
rare or out of the ordinary.
"News is what will make people talk." Charles Dana, editor
of the
true today. Ifyou walked
New York Sun made that point, which certainly is
seven engulfed in a roaring
past ten houses of a street, and found number
fire, which one would you talk about when you go home? To a large
about house
extent, newsis guided by human nature. You will not talk
seven is on fire. And it is
three or five where all is calm, when house
human nature to wonder about the occupants. Did they get out safely?
suffer? Do they have
Will their house be saved? How much loss will they
insurance? It's the kind of curiosity that produces good reporters.
In his book, Professional Journalism, M.V. Kamath has put together
which
number of definitions of News, some of
are:
a
that interests or
"News is any event, idea or opinion that timely,
is
and that is capable of
affects a large number of people in a community
being understood by them."
 Essentials of Practical Journalism
News is anything and everything interesting about life and materials
in all their manifestation."
What is new is news.
News has no geographic boundaries. News is
always revealing.
News is what interests people. News is news.
Spencer Crump describes news in his book 'Fundamentals of
Journalism as "News is the breakdown of human
relationship and the
occurrence of events which are
unexpected and even surprising.
One text book describes the news
as: The very 'new' element is
inherent in news. All these exercises bring
forth one definition which is
very much functional, that is, Now is New is News.
"One big trouble with news is that
nobody knows what it is. The
other trouble is that nobody knows what it means." That
not from an editor but from a
remark came
political scientist, Leon V. Sigal. He took
an insightful
excursion into the world of the workingjournalist and reached
that conclusion in his book
Reporters and Officials, published in 1973.
Today's definitions of news are no less bewildering. In 1982 the
American Society of Newspaper Editors published a
pamphlet entitled
What is news Who decides? And how?" The definitions of news from
some 500 journalists who
responded to a survey ranged from "News is
what raises eyebrows" to "News is what I want to write about."
The variety of definitions, the uncertainty, may
sound ominous to
the aspiring journalist, though it need not
be. News is recounting
a of the
events, situations and ideas that human nature prompts us-as
reasonably
intelligent, alert, and interested people--to take note of. Or we would
take note of them if we knew about them. The
journalist's job is to
anticipate the elements that audience will find interesting, important, and
useful.
There are basically two types of news: Spot news and diary news.
Spot news is the unexpected or unpredictable; disasters, plane crashes,
train accidents, earthquakes, fires, inflation, drought etc. Diary news is
news which can be
anticipated:aspeech by the Prime Minister, the visit
of a foreign
dignitary, the opening of a bank, inauguration of a bridge,
etc.

Elements of News
Generations of journalists have used similar criteria in
deciding the news
value of each day's happenings and in deciding which news stories are
 5
Nature of News

into account the

more important than others. All such decisions take
audiences are
audience for which the news is intended because no
identical. Most of them probably differ substantially from you
in
Therefore
background, interests, age, education and outlook on the world.
what seems interesting or important to you may not be viewed that way
their
by your readers. People are more concernad about things that affect
iives directly. A big part of the journalist's job is figuring out what these
things are and what the effects may be.
Newspapers and broadcasters study their audiences regularly for
guidance. The most common tool used in such studies is the survey, which
can reveal not only the characteristics of the people in the audience
inctuding age, sex, backgrbund, education and income-but also what
kinds of news these people need and want. Another research tool being
used with growing frequency is the 'focus group'. This differs from the
survey in that small groups of people are engaged in detailed discussion
rather than having many people answer brief questionnaires. The two

approaches be used together to information that is both broad and

can
deep. Knowing your qudience is essential in making news judgements.
Some ofthe important criterion forjudging news value are-

Timeliness

One of the signifiqant elements of news is timeliness. News has to be

new. The event itself may not be new but the discovery of it may be.
the fresher
News, like fish, can go stale quickly. Therefore, with news,
the better. Beporters and editors, newspapers and broadcast stations,
compete to be first with a big story.
Timeliness is not everything, though no print reporter can hope to
event is
important
compete with broadcast bolleagues in sheer speed. Ifan
minutes. Tomorrow's
enough, the broadcaster can be on the area with in
newspaper Won't be until tomorrow.
have come to concentrate
So newspaper and magazine journalists
less on the 'when' ofa story and more on the 'why' and 'how.' Though
next week's issue,
they still want to cover the story in the next day's or
more at the content.
these reporters and editors look less at the clock and
under
Often, both reporters cover as many details of an event as possible return
or days later-
the pressures of the clock, and then-a few hours
details in context and
with a backgrounder, analysis that puts th0se
explains what they mean.
6 Essentials of Practical Journalism

Proximity

The geographic nearness or distance of an event can make a story more

or less attractive to the reader. People like to read about what is near to
them. Proximity means news happens close by readers and viewers want
to learn about their neighbourhood, town, or country. All other things
being equal, news from close to home is more newsworthy than news
from a foreign country.
A train derailment in England for example, is less likely to be
reported than a similar derailment in your country. Similarly a tragic
auto accident in your local area will receive attention because people are
familiar with the terrain and may even know the injured.
In a weekly or regional newspaper the factor of proximity may
narrow the scope of stories holding readership attention. Editors may
emphasize articles regarding nearby schools, universities, colleges
hospitals, police stations and political events, knowing they are meaningful
to readers, while occurrences a few miles away are meaningless.

Prominence

"Names makes news," goes the cliche, still, happening that involve wel1-
known people on institutions are likely to be interesting even if not
important. Stories about well-known people have a higher readership
than those about persons in the lower rank. The more important a person,
the more valuable, he or she is as a,news source. Thus, activities of the
Prime Minister, President and 6ther heads of the country attract
tremendous media attention. Iwaddition to political leaders, the activities
of sports and entertainment figures are also deemed newsworthy. Even
the prominence of infamous has news value. The past lives and recent
exploits of many criminals are frequently given media coverage.

Impact
Another important criterion for detemining news value is inpact: how
many people an event or idea affects and how seriously it affects them
determine its importance as news. So does the extent to which the
information may be useful. For example, if a university announces that
tuition fees will be doubled due to curtailment of funds by UGC
(University Grants Commission), there are consequences for prospective
students, society, the faculty, and a community whose economy may be
Nature of News

bus strike may affect not only the students and

geared to the education. A
commuters but also the supply and prices of vital goods.
will affect the
The weather report, for example, snow in Shimla,
supplyof essential commodities, fuel consumption, environment and
leisure activities. News of medical or scientific achievements is of great
consequence because of the hope they
offer.
News of nuclear war will create impact on its readers throughout
its
the world. Similarly terrorist activities in a country will have
consequences in that particular country.

Conflict
Most reporters spend most of their time covering conflict-whether wars,
politics, crime or sports. Conflict is both a contributing and a complicating
and harder
factor in news. Usually present, it is often hard to understand
to describe.

Nearly every story oneach of our front pages is a story of conflict.

Conflict is a central feature
The murders and manhunt are the most graphic.
or sports. Sometimes it
of most news. Sometimes it is physical, as in war
falls into this category,
is more subtle or sophisticated, political copflict
social and economic conflict
though it may lead to physical struggle, too are fought with
may also produce bloodshed, though most often they
words.
seem to be bound with conflict and
Mankind's relationships
elements are found in court cases, winning
competition. These and
for odtstanding journalists,
scholarships, awards for pictures, prizes
a host of other daily
activities.
in a democratic society
One of the important functions ofjournalists
understandable. Reporters must translate jargon
is to make complex events
to get at real causes and real
effects. The
into standard English and try
can, however, produce
pursuit of this unquestionably worthy goal
questionable results.
are also the most
Often some of the important stories of conflict
to know even what the
real questions
complex. Sometimes, it is difficult Sometines there are no
are far from simple.
are. The a n s w e r s usually

none we can discover.

answers, or
seek to understand the nature of
It is therefore, iiportant that you
almost certainly is more complicated
the conflict you are covering. It
lt is vital, too, that you avoid
than is apparent at first glance.
 Essentials of Practical Journalism

oversimplification while secking clarity. Clarity leads to understanding

oversimplification makes understanding impossible.

Disaster and Progress

Two important news values, disaster and progress, are at opposite ends
of the scale. With human psychology as it is, disaster or bad news usuatly
triumphs over progress or good news. When an earthquake rocks a place.
for example, as was in Gujarat, newspapers devoted pages to stories and
pictures describing the loss of lives and property. An explosion rips a
building, and readers eagerly consume the news stories detailing the
tragedy. By contrast, plans to build an over-bridge or flood control project
rates relatively small space and only passing reader interest. One factor
of course, in many 'good news' stories is the lack ofhuman elements that
help develop emotional involvement.
The 'bad' news, unfortunately usually outdraws the positive in
exciting reader interest. While the public complains that editors
overemphasize news with negative or violent overtones, few people would
bother to read the publication that failed to print the news of society's
efforts and failures in minority relations, war and peace, fighting.poverty,
or slowing the crime rate. Few people will read the article on how the
community welfare organization uses contributions to help the needy
but virtually all readers will eagerly consume details of how the agency's
trusted executive embezzled funds. The article reporting how someone
provided parties for disabled children will rate little space or readership
compared to the story situation involving a person in sex crBmes.
Readerexpect the news of tragedies, disasters, violence, and
breakdowns in kuman relationships.
Journalists, too, wish the world was filled with good news and their
audiences wanted to hear about it.

Human interest

These are stories that arouse some emotion in the audience's stories that
are ironic, bizarre, uplifting or dramatic. Typically, these items concern
ordinary people who find themselves in circumstances with which the
audience can identify. For example, the story may involve a child's unusual
pet or a senior citizen's success in a field usually reserved for younger
people. Journalists classify such situations as "human interest' stories.
dyen though all stories presumably are of interest to people.
Nature of News
9
The 'human interest'
category covers several subjects that may lack
story elements such as prominence, real consequences, disaster, or,
conflict. The story situations are worthy because they deal with such
elements youth or senior citizen's, pets, adventure, attractive girls or
or

women, the problems of disease or

poverty, overcoming handicaps,
romance, strange places or merely unusual
people. Another term which
can be used for these stories is 'feature' stories.
These stories often are timeless and can be held with the
that usually accompany them photographs
until newspaper
the has the space to display
them properly.
In addition to these seven traditional elements of news value, there
are other things that influence what information gets published or
broadcast. Mostjournalists agree that
economics plays a large role. First,
some stories cast more to cover than others. It is
cheaper to send a reporter
or a camera crew to cover Municipal Corporation meeting team than to
assign a team ofreporters tq investigate Municipal Corporationcorruption.
The latter would require a long time, extra resources, extra personnel
andpatience.All of which costsmoney.Some news operations might not
be willing to pay the price fpr such a story or conversely, after spendilg
a large sum of money pursuinga story, the news organizations might run
it, even if it had little traditional news value, simply to justify its cost to
management. By the same token, the cost of new technology is reflected
in the types of stories that are covered. When TV stations went to
Electronic News Gathering (ENG), stories that could be covered live
became more important. In fact, many organizations, conscious of the
scheduling of TV nels programmes, planned their meetings and/or
demonstrations during the newscast to enhance their chances for live TV
coverage.
These traditional criteria for judging what is news and what is not
continue to be appliçd by print and broadcast journalists alike, but the
range of issues and events to which the criteria are applied is broadening
significantly.Creed Black, then President of the American Society of
Newspaper Eqitors, wrote in 1988.
f can believe what we tell each other at our seminars and
we
conventions, most American editors now agree that 'news' is no longer

just an account of whatshas happened since yesterday's paper

was

published. Underlying trends, particularly in the

area
ofsocialchanges,
also claim and deserve our attention. Most of us would also agree,
should in identifying and
however, that we don't do as well as we
 10 Essentials of Practical Journalism

reporting these trends. The tradil onal patterns of covering and editing
the news are strong and old habi s take time to break.

Categories of News

Generally, news can be categorised into two broad categories:

1. Hard news
2. Soft news

Hard News

cohsists of
These stories make up the bulk of news reporting. Hard news
basic facts: Who, What, Where, When, How. It is news of important
happenings, social
public events, such as govemment açtions, international
science. Hard news
environment and
conditions, the economy, crime,
The front sections of a
has significance for large number of people.
newscast
newspaper or magazine
and the lead stories of a radio or TV
are usually filled with hard news.)
There is a standard technique used report
to hard hews. In the print
inverted pyramid form. The main facts ofthe
media, it is the traditional unvarnished
the first sentence (called the lead) in a
story are delivered in at the end.
come next, with the least important
style. Less important facts
uses it to copose facts quickly),
This structure aids the reporter (who
few paragraphs of a story to make it fit
the editor (who can delete the last and
wholesale damage to the sense bf the story)
the page without doing
if he or she is interested in all, some,
.

the reader (who can tell at a glance

format has been criticized for being predictable
or none ofthe story)This

and old-fashioned. More literary writing

styles have been suggested as
has survived and will probably be
alternatives, but the inverted pyramid
around far into the future/
the added considerations of limited
In the broadcast media, with
used. Instead,
sound, and idea, the inverted pyramid format is not
time,
format. The information level stays
broadcast reporting follows a square less
There is usually no time for the
about the same throughout the story.
the last paragraphs of a newspaper
important facts that would come in
a 'hard' or a 'sof lead. A
TV and radio news stories use either
story. the basic facts of the
most important information,
hard lead contains the to build over
"The state Govt. has rejected a plan
story. For example, the viewers attention; it may notconvey
bridge."A soft lead is used
to get
Ntte of News

much information. For example, "That proposed over bridge is in the

news again." The lead is then supported by the body of the story, which
introduces new information and amplifies what was mentioned in the
lead. The final few sentences in the report, can be used to personalize the
main point, introduce another fact, or discuss future developments.
Of course, the writing style of broadcast news is completely
different. The writing is more informal, conversational and simple.

Soft News

Soft or feature news covers a wide territory. Features may not be timely
or have much importance to the lives of the audience(The onething that
all soft news has in common is that it interests the audience(Features
typically rely on human interest for their news value) They appeal to
people's curiosity, sympathy, skepticism, or amazement,) They can be
about places, people, animals, topics, events, or products. Some stories
that would be classified as soft or feature news might include the birth of
a kangaro0 at the local zoo, a personality sketch of a vice-chancellor of
theuniversity.
Features áre entertaining and the audiencelikethem. The techniques
the
for reporting features are -as varied as the features themselves( In
inverted pyramid pattern/The
print media, features seldom follow the
Other features
main point of the feature is often withheld to the end.
be written in chronological order, others might start with shocking
a
might
statement such as, "your secrets just might kill you" and then go on_with
should wear a Medic-
an explanation, "If you have a medical problem, you
structures on the question and
Alert braçelet". Still'other features can be
answer format. In short reporters are
free to adopt whatever structures
they think is suitable..
TV features are more common than radio features. In some large
to cover nothing but
TV markets, one or more reporters may be assigned
where story ideas are
features. Almost all stations have a feature file
local
catalogued. Ifa local station does not have the resources produce
to

features, there are syndication companies that will provide general-interest

of formats.
features for a fee. Broadcast features also use a variety
Humorous leads and delaying the main point
until the end sometimes
structure, used in everyday
work well. Other times a simple narrative
The interview format is also popular,
story telling will be quite effective.
well1-known personality (More in
particularly when the feature is about a
the feature chapter).