What is news?
You have probably heard of the Five W’s and the one H.
The WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN,
WHY and HOW.
In order to be news, something has
to have happened (the WHAT factor). That WHAT
factor includes the following: The event should be
interesting and/or dramatic, it should have the
possibility of continuing on as a story that affects a
lot of people (here is the WHO factor). If you
know the people involved, or have heard of the people
involved, that ramps up the interest level of the story.
Proximity is another factor, in
that readers will be more interested in the news if it
is taking place near them, or if they are familiar with
the place that the story is taking place. (This is the
WHERE factor)
The story must be timely (the
WHEN factor) to qualify as news—so it must be
happening now, or in the very recent past.
The story should have the
possibility of analysis as to WHY and HOW
it happened, so that readers will want to continue
reading about the story for days afterwards.
Ways to get the
news
People still tell us things; we
hear news items on the radio while driving in our cars.
We then go home or to school and turn on our TVs or
computers to see more news. We read the newspapers the
next day, and then buy news magazines to get more
in-depth analysis as to WHY and HOW things
happen.
Readers will stick to a story many
days, if new sources package the story correctly.
Newspapers and magazines will incorporate dramatic
photos to capture the reader’s attention, even weeks
after the event. The media will also focus heavily on
the WHO factor to bring the human element to
any story. Stories recently ran in People magazine about
the widows of 911, and the children born after 911.