NEWS VALUES

UNIT STRUCTURE

2.1 Learning Objectives

2.2 Introduction
2.3 News Values
2.4 Objectivity and Authenticity
2.5 Let us sum up
2.6 Further Readings
2.7 Answers to check your progress
2.8 Possible questions

2.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit you will be able to:

• analyze different news values
• explain Objectivity and Authenticity of news

2.2 INTRODUCTION

News values are the characteristics of news. They are the qualities
by which events qualify as news. And it is expected that all journalists
regardless of whether they are involved in on-the-field reporting or
placed at the news desk , have a clear idea about all the values that
constitute news. Therefore, let us now try to understand the
characteristics of news one by one.

2.3 NEWS VALUES

The news value which is common to all the news items are:
1)    Timeliness 4)    Importance
2)    Conflict 5)    Impact
3)    Prominence, etc.
They are discussed
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Timeliness
News essentially has to be new, recent, on time. Old news is stale
news and, therefore, of no value. Timeliness, however, is defined by
the publication cycle of the news medium in which the information will
appear.
• For a weekly news magazine, events that happened during the
previous week are timely.
• For a daily newspaper, however, events that happened during
the 24 hours since the last edition of the paper are timely.
• For the broadcast media, events that happened during the past
few hours upto the last half hour are timely.
A timely presentation of events and happenings is a consideration
that every newsman strives to achieve. Otherwise news loses its
credibility and essence. Readers do not find it interesting to read stale
news. Therefore, it is said that news is the most perishable commodity
in the world. And that is the reason why the happenings of the day,
including the major events taking place in the evening and late at night,
will find a definite place in the morning newspaper.

This concern for immediacy has become more prominent in today’s

era of evolving technology. The television has reduced this time gap
to an unbelievable ‘news as it is happening now’ situation. And the
viewers are boggled by watching the seamless unfolding of events
taking place at far flung places of the world the moment they break on
their television screen. The online newspapers also keep on updating
information or the content of the paper as and when events break out
and simultaneously more and more information keeps on pouring in
throughout the day adding more highlights and insights into a single
event. Now-a-days news updates can be received through sms also.

Importance
Significant events that hold importance for the masses must be
considered as news. Any important event like the presentation of railway
or fiscal budget at the Parliament or in the State Assemblies,
announcement of any kind of development project by the government,
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visits of Foreign ministers to our country or vice versa, a military threat

by the neighboring countries, crime related stories etc. are all important
events, information about which needs to be delivered immediately to
the people.

Conflict
Conflicts are parts of every society. When a society comprises multiple
ideologies, multiple organs, innumerable ethnic communities, multiple
languages, geographical terrains etc. then conflicts are bound to
happen. The entire North east region, including Assam, is a testimony
to conflicts of different nature and magnitude plugging at different points
of time fueled by innumerable reasons. Nuclear war, terrorist activities,
communal clashes, political turmoil, struggles for identities have
become cause of concern for every society the world over and there
have been excessive reporting about such incidents in every news
media. Reports about such happenings are widely covered by local
as well as national media because they are news worthy and arouse
heightened emotions among masses. One, however, needs to exercise
a lot of caution and restrain while reporting conflict as these issues
are very sensitive. Media reports portraying the incident in an improper
way can flare up the situation and cause further damage. At times the
media also has to hold back from revealing certain information in order
to help maintain peace.

Proximity
News Story:
Similar to relevance the local news is always interesting for the
News report or
masses, irrespective of where they stay. When a local event is featured
material which goes
in the newspapers or electronic media news bulletins, the readers
into the newspaper.
find it engrossing because local events affect their immediate life and
Not to be confused
surroundings – weather, events, traffic, communication, market, health
with tale or novel or
facility etc. It is a general tendency of people to remain abreast with
fiction.
what is happening in their locality, in their local markets, in their
neighborhood and with the local people. That is the reason why all the
newspapers devote a considerable amount of space for regional
affairs. Also, to capitalize on the readership base, there has been a

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tendency of all the big national newspapers, in the past couple of years,
to have local editions in probably every state of the country to cater to
the needs and interests of the people of that particular state. Proximity,
however, means more than a simple measure of distance.
Psychological proximity is also important. So, if, say, an Indian is
awarded or gains recognition in a foreign country, it makes important
news for us.

Prominence
Prominent persons, prominent events and prominent places always
make news. You must have always been wondering as to why you
always see the same faces — same politicians, same celebrities or
the same places making inroads into the newspaper space and bulletin
time.      Popular politicians, popular film stars, sports persons,
celebrities, socialites—they always make news. This is because the
readers or the viewers adore them and want to know more about
them, about their life styles, their likes and dislikes. They are the role
models for many and hence, when their activities are covered by the
media it is bound to draw the attention. Political bigwigs like the
President, the Prime Minister, the Leaders of different political parties,
spiritual gurus, sports persons, film stars, business barons etc, are
always in the news.

Sometime, even prominent places make news. Like the metros of

India-Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and other major cities of India
and abroad, make news. The events happening in these places are
matters of concern for many and, hence, they raise curiosity.
Prominent events like International Trade Fairs, Expos, Fashion shows,
film festivals, international summits and conferences etc also make
news.

Impact or consequence
The kind of impact an event is going to have on the minds of the people
is also another characteristic of news. An event that causes or is
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capable of causing a great sequence of events affecting many persons

is obviously newsworthy. Massive disasters, earthquake, floods,
natural calamities, political debacles, economic turmoil, major
accidents, crashes, inflation, hike of fuel prices, political party coming
to or moving out of power, union budget, reservation or any shift in
policy etc are all able to create greater impact on the lives of the common
people. Similarly, consequence may measure disaster or progress. A
fire that destroys a private dwelling is of small consequence in
comparison to tsunami which killed thousands of lives in the coastal
regions of India recently. When news about such incidents appear in
the newspaper pages people become emotionally aroused and such
incidents affects the lives of the people in more ways than one.
Progress
Information relating to a country’s development and prosperity always
makes news. Every society has problems and issues that need to be
highlighted by the media. Such information is always newsworthy.
Therefore, success stories of individual or the society, victories and
progress- they all make news.

Disaster
Any kind of disaster makes news. Disasters like earthquakes, flood,
News Desk:
fire, erosions, volcanic eruptions, cyclones, etc. make news as such
Desk where news
occurrences affect the lives of the majority. When such incidents occur
is edited and
they take away human lives, damages property and break the
processed. Also
ecological balance. Such incidents stir the emotions of the larger
known as Copy
segments of the society.
Desk . In
Journalism, Copy
Human Interest:
means the material
These are stories that arouse some emotions in the audience - stories
written by a
that are ironic, bizarre, uplifting or dramatic. For example, when a
journalist or news
person saves another’s life risking his own, it becomes news worthy
supplied by a news
or when a person achieves something big despite being a handicap it
agency or
makes news.
correspondent.

Novelty
Stories that are unique, something that is new or unusual make news.
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For instance, when a couple got married underwater, it created news.

Similarly Guinness world record events make news.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS- A

1) What do you mean by news values? Name some important news

values.
__________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________
2) Which of the following events have no news value for the media-
i) Indian Prime Minister visits China
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ii) Foreign tourists visit India
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iii) Price of commodities increase in Assam
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iv) India wins football match against Pakistan
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v) Your elder sister gives birth to a child
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vi) Aishwarya Rai gives birth to a child
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vii) You go to watch a football match
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viii) Boy dies in Juvenile home
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__________________________________________________________
ix) Prime Minister goes to watch cricket match
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x) HSLC examination begins
__________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY- A

1) Think of 10 major news items that were covered by the media in the
past two days and identify which news value or values are found in
each of these news items. Note down which news value was found
in the maximum no of news items.
2) Open today’s newspaper and go through the news items on the first
page- Identify the news items having the following news values. Name
the news value which is common to all the news items on the first
page.
1)    Timeliness 4)    Importance
2)    Conflict 5)    Impact
3)    Prominence

2.4 OBJECTIVITY AND AUTHENTICITY OF NEWS

Journalism is a profession of news and news is a serious business.

Newsmen, therefore, are required to present facts as they happen without
tampering or adding any personal views or opinions. News means factual
presentation of information without being judgmental. Objectivity is of prime
importance in journalism. Objectivity in reporting and objectivity in news
presentation is a virtue that every professional in this field should strive to
achieve. One needs to remain cautious and well guarded against any kind
of personal bias or opinions that might creep in while dealing with news.

The reporter has to remain more objective while reporting. Because when
an incident occurs, it is the reporter who is sent first to the field to collect
information. He not only gathers first hand information at the field, but also

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interviews people who have probably witnessed the incident and investigates
by going deeper into the event in the pursuit of unearthing any hidden facts.
Therefore, it is expected that the reporter does not temper with facts and
figures and also remains cautious against biased opinions of the
interviewees. He or she should not, at any cost, let his/her personal opinion
to be reflected in the report.

There are specific columns in the newspaper such as the editorial page
where comments or views of writers find place. If the reporter wants to give
any personal judgment on any event he or she can very well write an
opinionated piece for the editorial page. The reporter should not inter-mix
news and views while making his report. If the reporter deviates, ethically,
from his objectivity, the image of the newspaper gets diluted. Therefore, the
reporter should strive to attain complete objectivity in reporting.

However, it may not always be possible for the reporter to remain absolutely
unbiased or objective. As a human being, the reporter is vulnerable to various
kinds of emotional as well as professional hazards, and can easily fall victim
to subjectivity. And more often than not the reporter ’s personal opinion or
bias is reflected in the newspaper. On some such occasions, the reporter ’s
authenticity and even the reputation of the entire newspaper might be at
stake. Nevertheless, the reporter should, as much as possible, try to achieve
objectivity in his work.

Sometimes it may happen that when the reporter is investigating a particular

happening and requires views of other people who may have been witness
to that particular incident, the other person may try to pass his own judgment.
In such cases the reporter should always check and cross check
information, probably verify it from other sources so that the readers receive
the truth and only the truth. Thus, objectivity is maintained at any cost.
Being objective also helps in being authentic. Facts are supposed to be
authentic information. If the reporter, or for that matter any person in the
news business, strives to achieve maximum objectivity, then this, in turn,
also helps in being authentic as far as information is concerned. Facts are
sacred in journalism. So the journalist should not try to dilute it by mixing it
with personal opinions.

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In today’s era of profit driven media domain, there is an increasing tendency

of the media organizations to try and influence the presentation of facts or
news. The owners of the media houses always look at profit while dealing
with news. They do not want to sacrifice their sources of profit generators
by writing against them, even if they have proper proof of their involvement
in any kind of mischievous activities. The media organizations may also
have a favored brigade of people in the society, whom they do not want to
offend at any cost, crucifying the concept of objectivity. On the other hand,
the news organizations may also attempt to nullify the image of the people
who do dot come under their good book by writing maliciously against them.
This kind of action on the part of the organizations sends a very bad message
across to the people and in the long run there is every possibility of losing
faith in the society.

Therefore, objectivity and authenticity are the virtues that every media
organizations and also the professionals working in this field should try to
achieve if they are looking for long time sustenance in the field.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS- B

1) What is Objectivity in news?

___________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________
2) How can the authenticity of a news item be ascertained. In a media
house, whose responsibility it is to ensure that the news which
are carried are authentic?
___________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________

2.5 LET US SUM UP

In this unit you have been introduced to the concept of news values. Let us

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quickly recapitulate them once.

• There are some basic qualities by which we can identify news. They
include prominence, proximity, disaster, progress, impact, importance
etc.

• News means factual presentation of information without being judgmental.

Objectivity is of prime importance in journalism. Objectivity in reporting
and objectivity in news presentation is a virtue that every professional in
this field should strive to achieve.

• The reporter should not inter-mix news and views while making his report.
If the reporter deviates, ethically, from his objectivity, the image of the
newspaper gets diluted.

2.6 FURTHER READINGS

° Journalists Handbook , M. V. Kamath, Vikas Publishing House, New

Delhi

° Professional Journalism, M. V. Kamath

° Handbook of Journalism and Mass Communication , V B Agarwal

and V S Gupta, Concept Publishing    Company, New Delhi

2.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS - A

1) News values are the qualities by the presence of which an event

qualifies as news. They are the basic characteristics of any news
item.

The news values are- Timeliness, importance, conflict, Relevance,

proximity, prominence, impact or consequence, progress, disaster,
human interest and novelty.

3) i) Yes
ii) No
iii) Yes
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iv) Yes
v) No
vi) Yes
vii) No
viii) Yes
ix) No
x) Yes

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS - B

1) In news, objectivity is presentation of news as it has happened without

the addition of any colour or personal opinion to it, so that the audience
is left to form their opinion and an opinion is not imposed on the
audience.

2) Authenticity of a news item can be ascertained in the following ways-

• Collecting first hand information instead of relying on rumors.
• Taking the information from reliable and credible source only.
• Checking and cross- checking the given information with other
sources also.

In a media house, the entire news team is responsible for ensuring the
authenticity of the news. It includes the reporter, the sub-editor, the editor
and in case of radio and TV, the news producer and to a certain extent the
news presenters also have to bear a part of the responsibility.

2.8 POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1. Explain the concept of news value.

2. What is the importance of objectivity and authenticity in news?

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