How and So What? You don't have to cover all
these in the lead, obviously, but usually you will
address one or two in the rst graph.
The rest should come soon. Make sure they
are all covered somewhere in your story.
NEWS VALUES
What is news? The cliche is, when dog bites
man, it's not news. When man bites dog, that's
news. Critics say, why is the newspaper always
full of bad news? Because bad news is unusual,
and no one wants to read about ordinary events.
"The Monitor adviser arrived on campus
this morning and found things much as he
left them the night before." Who cares? If the
adviser nds a mountain lion waiting for the
elevator in Building 5, then there's a story. With
photos.
News usually has at least one of these ele-
ments:
• Impact. Impact is determined by the num-
ber of people affected, the number of boats that
sink, the number of cars wrecked, etc. The more
people affected, the more boats sunk, the bigger
the impact of the story.
• Proximity. The closer your audience is to
the event, the greater its news value. If a train
hits a bus in Bangladesh, it may receive three
column inches behind the sports section. If a
train hits a bus on Niles Canyon Road, the Argus
will play it on page one.
• Timeliness. "New" is a big part of news. If
it happened just before deadline, it's bigger news
than if it happened last week. Even "big" stories
last only a week or so. News, like sh, is better
fresh.
• Prominence. If it happens to the mayor, it
is bigger news than if it happens to the Monitor
adviser. The public cares more about celebrities
than they do about people they don't know. If
President Clinton goes jogging, reporters take
pictures. If the Monitor adviser goes jogging,
dogs bark, but no one else notices. (This is ne
with the adviser.)
• Novelty. If an event is unusual, bizarre, the
rst, the last, or once-in-a-lifetime, it is has more
news value than if it is something that happens
all the time.
• Conict. War, politics and crime are the
most common news events of all. If everyone got
along, there wouldn't be much news.
• Relevance. How does the story affect the
reader? If there's no effect at all, maybe there's
no news.
• Usefulness. How can I use this informa-
tion? Home, business and leisure news sections
have sprouted in newspapers in an attempt to
give readers news they can really use.
• Human interest. A story may be weak on
the other news values, but be interesting anyway.
It can be as simple as an interview with a fasci-
nating person who does unusual things. If people
are talking about it, it's news, even if it doesn't
meet the criteria of our other news values.
OBJECTIVITY/FAIRNESS
The reporter's job is to nd out the truth and
tell it, regardless of who might be made uncom-
fortable. The reporter's responsibility, as implied
by the First Amendment, is to serve only the
reader.
The public needs unbiased information in
order for democracy to succeed. That means that
your stories must be unbiased. Most reporters
believe pure objectivity is impossible. When you
select one word over another, your judgments
enter the story.
But fairness is possible, and fairness should
be every reporter's goal. Fairness requires the
reporter to recognize his or her own biases in the
story, and then consciously include all relevant
points of view -- even ones that the reporter
doesn't like, personally.
Always look for the "other side" in any story.
If someone or some institution is accused of
something by a source in your story, you have an
absolute obligation to contact the accused party
and give them the opportunity to respond. This
should be done in the rst story, not in some later
"response" story.
Use neutral language. Avoid exclamation
points. Don't say "our college" when referring to
Ohlone. Say Ohlone. Our tone should be one of
the disinterested, but honest observer.
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