News quality

News Quality: Newsworthiness, news values, professionalism, and ethics John Couper, Ph.D. Communication Impact http://communicationimpact.wordpress.com

What is news quality? 

Newsworthiness 

What makes it worth bothering with • Its social significance



News Values 

What makes it meaningful • Its internal qualities



News Professionalism 



How it fits conventions

News Ethics 

What makes it right or wrong

Why do stories need quality? 

Reputation and credibility of 

Sources, vehicle, and journalists

Economic viability  Responsibility and ethics  Self-satisfaction  Career enhancement 

The social role of news 

News production must answer three different needs: To serve the community  To keep the journalist’s job and  To generate income for the company 

Sides and sources News should give readers the ideas and details needed to reach their own conclusions  This includes: 

Getting information from as many sources as possible and necessary  Providing a range of information  Offering a depth of information  Offering the context needed to understand the issues 

Influences on news quality 

       

Reporter’s decision to include or exclude information Placement of elements and the whole story Headline Photo, caption, camera angle, placement Depiction of people, places (e.g., names & titles) Statistics: selection and interpretation Use of source information Tone or writing style “News hole” or available space

Local teen killed: Girl's body found in home north of Chubbuck

By Debbie Bryce and Greg McReynolds - Journal Staff BANNOCK COUNTY - A Pocatello High School student was found dead Sunday afternoon in a home north of Chubbuck and police said they are investigating the incident as a homicide.

Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielson said the victim, who has not been identified pending notification of kin, was house sitting at a home on Whispering Cliffs Road at the time of death. The body was discovered by the owners of the home Sunday afternoon.

“When the family came back from vacation about 1 p.m., they discovered the body and called 911,” the sheriff said. “They fortunately did not disturb too much of the crime scene.”

“Obviously, this is a tragedy and we have all the resources we have working on this,” he said. “We do not have any prime suspects right now.

We are just following up leads.”

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call the sheriff's department at 236-7123

1. Classic news questions Who?  What?  Where?  When?  Why?  How? 

More helpfully… 



Basic questions about news  WHO did this story happen to?  WHAT happened?  WHERE did it happen?  WHEN did it happen?  WHY did it happen?

Additional questions  WHO wants to see this story?  WHAT is going to happen next?  WHERE are effects of this story going to be felt?  WHEN did this story first appear?  WHY should news consumers care?

2. Newsworthiness 

The social quality of news that makes it worth producing and consuming

Basics 







Information is newsworthy when it earns the attention, interest and respect of readers and colleagues News is what's new. An afternoon raid on a cocaine house may justify a report; the following day, the same story will probably not be worth mentioning.

It reflects the social role of journalism and justifies its privileged position in society News priorities change according to  Time  Place  Audience

Thirteen aspects of Newsworthiness             

Timeliness (recent occurrence) Change (unusual shift in a state, explainable or not) Proximity (geographical nearness to audience) Quality of information (completeness and timeliness) Salience (relative importance in context or uniqueness) Conflict/controversy (confrontation and dramatic contrast) Amount of impact (clear and meaningful effects) Breadth of impact (number of people involved or affected) Freshness (not already reported) Human interest (related to someone’s dramatic experience) Pathos (universal condition that readers sympathize with) Shock value (strongly against norms or expectations) Titillation (thoughtless stimulation like sex or perversion)

More ways 

 



 

Weight  The significance of a particular fact or event lies in its value in relation to other facts or events Emotion  Human aspects that touch audience emotions The Unusual  When a dog bites a man it's not news. But when a man bites a dog, it is news. (Old journalistic cliche) Usefulness  Help the audience answer questions and solve problems in their daily lives Educational Value  Make readers more knowledgeable, not just informed Personalisation  Events are seen through the personal experience of individuals.

…still more 

Consonance 



Continuity 



Stories that fit with the audience expectations or news conventions get more coverage than those that defy them

a story that has already been in the news, but is unresolved, has a kind of inertia.

Composition 

Editors often attempt a range and balance of story types

this is ridiculous… 









Threshold: A big story has an extreme effect on a large number of people. Where the immediate effect of an event is more subtle, the threshold may reflect the amount of money involved.

Frequency: Events that occur suddenly and fit well with the news organization's schedule are more likely to be reported than those that occur gradually or at inconvenient times of day or night. Long-term trends are less likely to be covered.

Negativity: Bad news is more exciting than good news. Bad news receives more attention because it shocks us and creates discussion.

Unexpectedness: If an event is out of the ordinary it will have a greater effect than an everyday occurrence.

Unambiguity: Events whose implications are clear make for better news than those that are open to more than one interpretation, or where understanding the implications depends on a complex background that must be explained

3. News Values 

The intrinsic qualities of news that makes it good or bad

Accurate reporting  

 





Reporters must to be as accurate as possible given the time and space available, such as using reliable sources.

Events with a single eyewitness are reported with attribution.

Events with two or more independent eyewitnesses are considered fact. Controversial facts are reported with attribution.

Independent fact-checking by another employee of the publisher is desirable Corrections are published when errors are discovered Defendants at trial are treated only as having "allegedly" committed crimes, until conviction, when their crimes are generally reported as fact Surveys and statistics should communicate precisely conclusions, in context, and to specify accuracy, including estimated error and methodological criticism or flaws.

Taste 





Audiences have different reactions to depictions of violence, nudity, coarse language, or to people in any other situation that is unacceptable to or stigmatized by the local culture or laws Even with similar audiences, different organizations and even individual reporters have different standards and practices. These decisions often revolve around what facts are necessary for the audience to know.

When certain distasteful or shocking material is considered important to the story, there are a variety of common approaches.  Advance warning of explicit or disturbing material may allow listeners or readers to avoid content they would rather not be exposed to.  Offensive words may be partially obscured or bleeped. Potentially offensive images may be blurred or narrowly cropped.  Descriptions may be substituted for pictures; graphic detail might be omitted.  Disturbing content might be moved from a cover to an inside page, or from daytime to late evening, when children are less likely to be watching.

Disclosure (honesty) 

Explaining unusual influences to editors and audiences   



Of conflicts of interest Of personal bias or involvement Incentives to report a story with a slant. E.g., not taking bribes and not reporting on stories that affect the reporter's personal, economic or political interests.

The usual response is to give the story to another reporter

4. News Professionalism 

Passion for “getting it right” Factual  Helpful and constructive  Accurate  Well-written  Timely 



Putting the needs of the story and audience above your own convenience

Objectivity a. 

   

Most journalists attempt to be detached from personal biases.  In the US, an objective story is often one that steers a middle path between two positions. Objectivity is violated to the extent that a story appears to favor one over the other.

It now tends to emphasize eyewitness accounts of events, corroboration of facts with multiple sources and "balance."

It also implies an institutional role for journalists as a body that exists apart from government and large interest groups.

It can mean reporting things with no bias, as if we just arrived from another planet without preconceived views.

Some claim that journalists should never take a stand on any contentious or controversial issues;  Instead, journalists should only report what "both sides" on the issue tell them.  Some extend this standard to the journalist's personal life, prohibiting political activities as involving taking a stand.

Objectivity b.    



Maximum separation between news and opinion. News reporters, editorial staff and ad sales are distinct.

Total separation between advertising sales and news. All advertisements must be clearly identifiable as such.

Competing points of view are balanced and fairly characterized.

Persons who are the subject of adverse news stories are allowed a reasonable opportunity to respond to the adverse information before the story is published or broadcast.

Interference with reporting by any entity, including any kind of censorship, must be disclosed.

Alternatives to Objectivity  



 

Many professionals believe that true objectivity in journalism is not possible; authors suggest alternative concepts Fairness and accuracy: this allows taking sides when  the side taken was openly disclosed  the facts and conclusions are accurate, and  the other side was given a fair chance to respond.

Balance: giving all sides their respective points of view Neutrality: eliminating assumptions about values before and while producing news Passion: Some say that objectivity is an obstacle to good journalism, as seen in such advocates for justice as “muckrakers”  As long as it is clear, passionate journalism should be accepted (with positive and negative consequences)

Sources     



Ensure confidentiality of anonymous sources Avoid anonymous sources when possible.

Accurate attribution of statements (who said it).

Pictures, sound, and quotations must not be presented in an accurate context.

Simulations, reenactments, alterations, and artistic imaginings must be clearly labeled, or avoided entirely.

Plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable and in many cases illegal.

Civic Journalism 

Principles: Journalists and their audiences are not merely spectators in political and social processes.  Instead, readers and community members are participants and collaborators.  Journalism is a dialog with civic impacts 

Civic Journalism Goals 



  

“Journalism has an obligation to public life – an obligation that goes beyond just telling the news or unloading lots of facts." (Pew Center) See journalists as active participants in community life, not detached spectators.

Make the media a forum for discussion of community issues.

Favor issues, events and problems that matter to ordinary people.

Generate a process of discussion and debate among members of a community.

Codes of Professional Practices 

...public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy.

The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty.

Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

Society of Professional Journalists (S.P.J.) Code    

   

Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage, especially children and inexperienced sources or subjects.

Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.

Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.

Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone's privacy.

Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity or titillation.

Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects or victims of sex crimes.

Be careful about naming criminal suspects before formal filing of charges.

Balance a criminal suspect's fair trial rights with the public's right to be informed.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES    

    

No inaccuracies, carelessness, bias or distortions. Never knowingly introduce false information. Quotations must be accurate, and precise.

Identify all the sources of our information, shielding them with anonymity only when they insist upon it and when they provide vital information Don't plagiarize.

Avoid behavior or activities that create a conflict of interest and compromise our ability to report the news fairly and accurately, uninfluenced by any person or action.

Don't misidentify or misrepresent ourselves to get a story. When we seek an interview, we identify ourselves as AP journalists.

Don’t pay newsmakers for interviews, to take their photographs or to film or record them.

Be fair. When we portray someone in a negative light, we must work to get a response from that person.

When mistakes are made, they must be corrected – fully, quickly and ungrudgingly.

Ensure that these standards are upheld. Any time a question is raised about any aspect of our work, it should be taken seriously.

Quality of production 

Correctly spoken or written language 



Clarity 



Using words and constructions that most-directly express the information/situation

Brevity 



often in the widely spoken and formal dialect, such as standard English

Using the fewest possible words

Strong images 

Accurate and expressive

A more pragmatic view 

Another view is that no single approach is valid, so balance     



Needs of the audience Goals of the story Motives of the journalist Appropriateness to the kind of story Journalist’s willingness to accept the consequences of judgments

(Couper, 2006)