MODELS OF NEWS
1.) Quantum theory
You can think of “news” as whenever one atom bumps another and starts a chain reaction that changes everything in existence. You can’t report on it because it is so vast, and by reporting alone you change things. You look for bigger things to report on. You have to have a net or a template to choose which of the infinite number of things going on we ARE going to report on. The kind of news values we used in the exercise above are the kinds of tools or templates reporters use. They aren’t always used by hobbiests producing Web sites. Journalism goes through fact checkers and editors. Consumers expect a minimum level of accuracy and believability. As long as consumers care about that—and maybe they don’t much anymore—we will need reporters or editors.
2.) Funnel
Using these tools to determine what is needed by our readers, we pick from the infinite number of things happening to decide what goes in the paper or on the 10 o’clock news. The structural limitations of the medium determine how much we can use.
a.)) After advertising, comics, columns and features, how many column inches does the Statesman have each day for international, national, regional and local news? How many reporters and wire services do they have to gather this information. Why can they fit more news in Wednesdays and Sundays than Saturdays and Mondays?
b.)) Using news values and available space to fill, we pick from the items available. At the bottom of the funnel comes the days’ news. Or think of the media as a meat grinder. You stuff in the beef or liver and at the other end comes out uniform, digestible pellets.
c.))What are examples of structural limitations?
Channel 7 is the biggest, richest local station. How many film crews do they have? Given the time it takes to do an assignment, how many stories could all the teams get on a shift?
d.)) How long is the 6 p.m. news? 30 minutes?
Subtract commercials.
How much time is left?
Subtract sports.
How much time is left?
Subtract weather.
How much time is left?
Subtract happy talk among the anchors.
How much time is left.
Subtract the non news-worthy feature, such as the oft-repeated Pumpkin Man at Halloween. How much time is left?
Subtract the international and national news you can get on cable or online e. How much time is left for local news?
How long does an average long news story and short news story run? How many do we have room for in the minutes remaining?
How many column inches does that equate to for local news?
How many column inches does the Statesman devote to local news on the days with the largest, and the smallest news holes?
How many reporters does the Statesman have covering local and state news?
3.) What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each medium?
Magazines. In-depth, length of stories, but not timely. Portable.
Newspapers. Not timely, but better than magazines. Longer stories than other media. More background. More room for more stories and pictures. Portable.
Television. Comes out three times a day. More timely. Sound. Moving pictures. More impact. Color, but magazines and newspapers have that, too. More likely to play up something with good visual, like a fire, than a newspaper would. Becoming more portable. Cell phone news services, expecially. Is that really “television”? Cells are tied to the proximity of cell towers.
Radio. Even more timely. News on the hour. More likely to break into programming with breaking news than television. Sound. Doesn’t have the visuals of television or even newspapers. Stories are often shorter than television, except for BSU Radio features. More portable than television.
Satellite Radio. Very portable. You don’t depend on magazine or newspaper delivery services or proximity of radio or television transmitters. What’s on it, anyway?
The Web. Interactivity. Hypertext links. Interactive multi-media. More volume of info than you can imagine. Great for reference, if you are a good judge of authenticity. Tied to availability of a Web connection and the speed of that connection. Cell company Wi-Fi cards are making adequate wireless speed available in more and more cities. Wi-Fi offers flexibility. You don’t have to be in a fixed location. Especially in big cities that are making free, strong Wi-Fi available everywhere in the city limits.
4.) What ARE the values journalists use for rating news? What does each of
a.) Proximity
b.) Magnitude, etc.
c.) How does that connect to what we put into a basic news story? What are the “Five W’s”?
Who, what, when, where, why, how.
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