News values
The decisions that journalists make to decide what is included in a newspaper, and what is not. More important stories are on the front page, less important stories are tucked away further back in the newspaper. And more important stories may be favoured with a double page splash. This whole hierarchy of importance is called ‘newsworthiness’. The following four points help journalists to decide what is newsworthy:
1 - Agenda
An agenda is a list of things that are important. But it’s subjective: what’s important to one person may be of no importance to another. By selecting which stories are included and which stories are not included, journalists are able to set public agendas, and arguably tells audiences what is important and what is now. Agendas are often political.
2 - Minimising risk and maximising profit
Newspapers are commercial products, and they exist to make money. The selection of stories must get people to buy newspapers, preferably every day, which involves knowing exactly what an audience wants, and giving it to them! Also, if a certain group is providing financial incentives to a newspaper, it might be in the newspaper’s interests to give them an easy ride…
3 - Immediacy
News is all about being new. The latest news very quickly becomes ‘old news’ and therefore there is often a struggle to publish the most scandalous news as quickly as possible… whatever the cost! The Phone Hacking Scandal is an excellent example of journalists putting human decency to one side to get the biggest ‘scoop’
4 - Gatekeeping
News coverage isn’t just about what’s included: it’s also about what’s left out. Every time we see a certain group being represented, another group is being excluded. And it’s a relatively small group of people who decides what goes in and what doesn’t!
As we will see, the same story will be reported in radically different ways by different newspapers!
The Mail Online November 22nd 2024
- A serious mode of address, using sophisticated language and far more descriptions. Heavily dramatized, featuring a lot of quotes, creating a dramatic mode of address. The selection of image is considered and serious, and clearly has been obtained through journalism and investigation. Additionally, it is clear that many interviews were taken to construct thi8s article. Use Of pull quotes are dramatic and serious, and are clearly designed to position and entice the reader. However, this mode of reportage may upset members as the Guardian is clearly using this story as leverage to encourage more readers. The more dramatic their story, the higher the user engagement, and the more potential of clickthrough.
- The Mail Online however has exclusively illustrated their story with images taken from social media. The images selected emphasise the hegemonic attractiveness of the deceased, and the images selected generally featured the deceased in revealing clothes. Doing so increases engagement, stereotypically with the Mail’s middle aged male demographic, and also the Mail’s female demographic may identify with the deceased. By including such scandalous pictures a scandalous and exploitative and manipulative mode of address is constructed. Many tabloid newspapers will deliberately present controversial and scandalous stories to encourage engagement.
- Both The Guardian and The Daily mail reported on the Laotian ethanol poisoning incident. The six most recent deaths are of particular interest to these newspapers for a number of different reasons
- It’s new and shocking and relatable to British audiences, many of whom will have travelled to these locations and will have experienced these situations
- The Mail Online selects a range of images of the dead women in revealing costumes in order to appeal to a perceived heterosexual male audience. These images were clearly lifted from the individual’s social media accounts. This constructs a narrative where these adventurous people are potentially at fault. Additionally, the sexualisation of victims of tragedy is completely inappropriate and potentially violates ethical standards
- The Guardian takes a more sophisticated approach, choosing knot to select images that might be viewed as potentially scandalous. Additionally, The Guardian’s reportage reads like a film script, which heavily dramatises the event. While this is arguably p[resented in a less salacious manner than the Mail, dramatisation can take away from the impact of an event, and may in particular offend or upset families affected by the event.
- In both cases, this story has been selected to minimise risk and to maximise profit. Arguably, in both situations, the deaths of these individuals have been exploited.
