MEASURING THE IMPORTANCE OF NEWS:Intensity of an Event, NEWS STORY TYPES

<< NEWS VALUES AND ELEMENTS OF NEWS:MISCELLANEOUS NEWS VALUES

TYPES OF NEWS STORIES II:SIMPLE TYPES, ILLNESS, DEATH >>

Radio News, Reporting and Production MCM515

LESSON 07

MEASURING THE IMPORTANCE OF NEWS

A constant and specialized kind of training enables reporters to draw a line of demarcation between an

ordinary event and a newsworthy event. They come to know what incident, statement, portion of speech, or

an activity of a renowned actor is to be treated as news and given space in the news bulletin.

After having enough material that is supposed to be a part of the coming news bulletin, a difficult yet the

most important and sensitive task lays ahead is giving a specific order to the news items the typist has to

follow while typing the news items and the news caster has to follow while reading out the bulletin.

Is it "first come, first serve" rule that applies here or "hit-and-trial method?" No, not at all. If not, then how

to measure the importance of news story so that its turn in the sequence of a news bulletin can be

determined? The order to be followed while placing the news stories in a bulletin is based upon a pretty

scientific and systematic manner.

"Generally, the most important, significant, and interesting, is offered to the listener or reader."

The following are the ingredients which make a story important and significant and according to its

importance and significance its order in a news bulletin can be evaluated and determined.

Intensity of an Event

Something intense means something extreme, something powerful, something deep, and something very

significant. Intensity involves power, force, and strength. When we evaluate a news story in terms of

intensity, we as a matter of fact, make an attempt to gauge its importance in terms of its strength and

consequently its affect on the society it is meant for. Intensity may be local, regional or global.

For instance, Pakistan wins world cup in cricket first time in the history of her participation in the

competition. It involves extreme level of interest of Pakistani nation in the victory and the victory possesses

great amount of intensity for Pakistanis. The news in Pakistani channels' bulletins will be given first place.

Extensity of an Event

Something extensive means happening of any event or accident on a larger level involving a great number

of people.

For instance, on 8th April 2005, a horrible earthquake left thousands and thousands of people in Azad

Kashmir and northern areas of Pakistan, with unforgettable destruction and devastation. It was a titanic

tragedy which affected people on extensive level. To cover this natural calamity and its affects on people,

reporters from media throughout the world rushed to the affected areas. This was a kind of event that

involved people on extensive scale coupled with mammoth intensity. That is why its news and coverage was

given the highest importance and the news story stayed at first place in the bulletins for weeks.

"The importance of a story is determined by its intensity (the amount of disruption) and by its extensity (the

number of people affected)."

Recentness of an Event

As it is said, time and again, that recentness or timeliness is the very feature of a news story. Any event or a

statement that is stale and old can be anything but can not be news. Out dated stories may be taken as

reference but these stories cannot be termed as news items. News is something that is new, as to some

journalists, news is the plural of new. Only the event or happening that carries all or some of the news

values we have gone through, and possesses the feature of newness as well, deserves to be called news. That

is why the most recent happening is treated as breaking news.

Radio News, Reporting and Production MCM515

Proximity

Proximity, as discussed above, is the nearness of an event. Local events are more important than foreign.

An accident or crime or ceremony is more important in the city where it occurs. The same kind of

happening occurred in any other city or country may be reported as news but in the bulletin it will be placed

in the tail end.

Consequence of an Event

In his budget speech, the finance minister announces a drastic cut in the tariff of electricity, or a fifty

percent raise is announced in the salaries of government servants. These changes will not come into effect

immediate after the minister concludes his speech, rather, from the 1st of the 1st month of the coming

monetary year that may start after a fortnight or twenty days. But since the consequences of the

announcement are supposed to affect people in future, the news will be given a prominent placing in the

news bulletin.

Variety of news values

It is a matter of simple understanding that more the news values in an event, the greater the importance of

that news will be.

For instance, the murder of a person is news, but the murder of any important figure in a society is even

bigger news. Earthquake anywhere in world is news, but earthquake in Pakistan is bigger news. If it is so

intensive that it kills thousands and thousands of people forcing other thousands of people to shift and

confine to tents, it becomes even the biggest news for almost all the news channels in the world.

Factors of Magnitude Simplified

Following is the list of the factors of magnitude of a news item:

The extent of the disruption of the status quo (prevailing situation) i.e., INTENSITY.

The number of the people affected by the event; i.e., EXTENSITY.

The nearness of an event; i.e., PROXIMITY.

The recentness of an event; i.e., TIMELINESS.

The extent of the results flow from the event, i.e., CONSEQUENCE.

The variety of the news values in an event; i.e., VARIETY.

NEWS STORY TYPES

Broadly speaking all news items can be categorized under four heads. They are:

General types

Simple types

Complex types

Special types

We will look into all these types in detail while studying reporting but it is important enough to have an

introduction to these types.

GENERAL TYPES

The following are the news stories which are treated as general types.

Personals

Briefs

Meetings

Events

Speeches

Publications

Interviews

Radio News, Reporting and Production MCM515

Personals

These are the news stories about important persons of a society about whom people want to know. These

figures could be from politics, showbiz, sports, or from any walk of life.

The near and dear ones of these celebrities also make news.

For instance,

· Any minister is admitted to hospital.

· Nazim visits any market.

· Prime minister's mother gets ill.

· Minister's son gets married.

· Any important figure's near one passes away.

· Names of visitors, guests, committee members, conventions.

Briefs

These are short news stories not pertaining to persons but they are related to different organization, non-

government organization, associations, trusts, clubs, etc.

Policy or progress announcements/ statements of different government or non government

organizations or departments, i.e., NADRA, etc.

The closing of certain departments on special holidays.

Meetings

News regarding different meetings held or to be hold at different levels are to be covered. The criterion of

evaluating the importance of these meetings is the same we have already gone through.

Events

These events may be fairs, or festivals, or may be any exhibition of pictures of a renowned photographer or

of portraits made by an eminent painter or handcrafts. These events are the social and cultural activities in

any society and deserve to be covered or to be made a part of a news bulletin

Speeches

Speeches of leading politicians, religious leaders, any department's chairman, ministers, prime minister,

president are to be covered and given space and place according to their respective importance.

Publications

News pertaining to different publications is also covered if again, they deserve to be a part of a news

bulletin in terms of the eminence of their author and the importance of the subject matter.

The publications may be articles, books, or research papers.

Interviews

Important interviews, if revealing anything important that may affect or interest a handsome number of

people, are also included in news bulletin, especially if the interview is on any current issue.

Interview, in general, is an important genre of reporting and journalism whether print or electronic and

hence will be touched upon in detail in the coming lectures. Some important kinds of interview, however,

are given here:

Personality interviews

Informative interviews

Opinion forming interviews

Illustrative interviews

Thematic interviews

Table of Contents: