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News Values 1

Melvin Mencher

How does a reporter or editor determine what events are so unusual and what information is so necessary that the public should be informed of them?Journalists have established some guides,called news values,for answering the questions.

Timeliness

Events that are immediate,recent.The daily newspaper,cable TV,the online news services and the hourly newscast seek to keep readers and listeners abreast of events.Thus,broadcast news is written in the present tense,and most leads on newspaper stories contain the world today.No matter how significant the event,how important the people involved,news value diminishes with time.André Gide 2 ,the French novelist,defined journalism as“everything that will be less interesting tomorrow than today.”

Impact

Events that are likely to affect many people.Journalists may take the initiative in digging up situations that have considerable impact.Journalists talk about events that are significant,important.They talk about giving high priority in their coverage to situations that people need to know about to be well informed.The more people that are affected by the event,the bigger the story.An increased in the postal rates will be given major attention because so many are affected.An increase in a town's property tax will receive considerable play in that town and nowhere else,but a change in the federal income tax rate will receive national attention.

Prominence

Events involving well-known people or institutions.When the president trips disembark from an airplane,it is front-page news;when a city councilmember missteps,it is not worth a line of print or a moment of air time.A local banker's embezzlement is more newsworthy than a clerk's thievery,even when the clerk has stolen more.The more prominent the person,the bigger the story.Names make news,goes the old adage,even when the event is of little consequence.

Prominence applies to organizations as well,and even to some physical objects.The repair of a major bridge in Akron3 is given coverage in that city and not elsewhere.But when the Golden Gate Bridge4 shuts down that action merits national coverage.

Conflict

Strife,antagonism,warfare have provided the basis ofstories since earlypeoples drew pictures on their cave walls oftheir confrontations with the beasts that surrounded them.People and their tribes and their countries have been at war with each other,and with themselves,since history has been kept,and the tales that resulted have been the basis of saga,drama,story and news.

To journalists today,conflict has a more nuanced meaning.“The most effective stories I've read,”says Peter St.Onge 5 ,a staff writer for The Charlotte Observer 6 ,“involved ordinary people confronting the challenges of daily life.”

The Unusual

Events that deviate sharply from the expected,that depart considerablyfrom the experiences of everyday life make news.We know that.But here we are talking about the truly different,the bizarre,strange and wondrous.

When a dog bites a man,it isn't news.But when a police dog,a tried and true member of the K-9 Corps,sinks his teeth into the arm of his police handler,that's unusual,and it's news.We've all seen big watermelons in the supermarket,but the 165-pound monster makes page 1 of the B section of The Freeport News7 when the farmer offers it to the First Baptist Church for its annual picnic.

Necessity

The several previous categories of newsworthiness involve people,events and situations that call out for coverage—meetings,speeches,accidents,deaths,games and the like.This final category is of the journalist's making.That is,the journalist has discovered something he or shefeels it is necessary to disclose.The situation or event,the person or idea may or may not come under any of the previous several categories of newsworthiness.The essential element is that the journalist considers the situation to be something everyone should know about and· usually it is a situation that needs to be exposed and remedied.

These news values do not exist in a vacuum.Their application depends on those who are deciding what news is,where the event and the news medium are located,the tradition of the newspaper or station,its audience and a host of other factors.

Notes

1.The passage is selected from News Reporting and Writing,11 th edition,2012,Tsinghua University Press.

2.André Gide:安德烈·纪德(法国著名作家)

3.Akron:阿克伦城(美国俄亥俄州北部城市)

4.the Golden Gate Bridge:金门大桥(建于美国加利福尼亚州金门海峡之上)

5.Peter St.Onge:彼得·圣·翁奇

6.The Charlotte Observer:《夏洛特观察家报》(美国)

7.The Freeport News:《自由港新闻》(巴哈马主要的日报)

Words and Expressions

1.newsworthy[ˈnjuːzwɜːði]adj.有报道价值的;有新闻价值的;值得报道的:The number of deaths makes the story newsworthy.死亡数量让该故事颇具新闻价值。

2.timeliness[ˈtaɪmlinəs]n.及时(性),时效(性):In journalism,timeliness and accuracy should be equally important.在新闻报道中,及时性和准确性同等重要。

3.immediate[ɪˈmiːdiət]adj.目前的,当前的,急迫的:Our immediate concern is to help the families of those who died.我们的当务之急是帮助那些死者的亲属。

4.newscast[ˈnjuːzkɑːst]n.新闻广播;新闻节目:He worked in the news division of BBC—he was the anchor of its 15-minute evening newscast.他在英国广播公司的新闻部工作———他是晚间15分钟新闻播报的主持人。

5.keep abreast of[kiːpəˈbrestəv]v.了解最新情况,跟上(某事物的发展):Read the papers if you want to keep abreast of time.如果你想跟上时代就要看报纸。

6.lead[liːd]n.导语:The news lead is a statement of the most significant aspect of an event and presented as simply and clearly as possible in the first paragraph.新闻导语是新闻报道开头尽可能简明清晰的第一段文字,也是新闻报道全文最重要的部分。

7.diminish[dɪˈmɪnɪʃ]v.减少,使减弱,缩减,降低:We should try to diminish the cost of production.我们应尽力降低生产成本。

8.journalism[ˈdʒɜːnəlizəm]n.新闻业,新闻工作:He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师,可还兼职做一些新闻工作。

9.initiative[ɪˈnɪʃətɪv]n.掌握有利条件的能力或机会,主动权:We must take the initiative in the struggle to end the war.为尽早结束战争,我们必须抢先行动。

10.dig up[diɡ ʌp]v.发现,搜集,查明:The scandal was dug up by a well-informed journalist.这件丑闻是被一位消息灵通的新闻记者发现的。

11.coverage[ˈkʌvərɪdʒ]n.新闻报道,采访:Now a special TV network gives live coverage of most races.现在有一个专门的电视网络对大部分比赛进行现场直播。

12.prominence[ˈprɒmɪnəns]n.重要,突出,卓越,出名:Crime prevention had to be given more prominence.防止犯罪方面应当受到更多的重视。

13.disembark[ˌdɪsɪmˈbɑːk]v.下车(或船,飞机等):I looked towards the plane.Six passengers had already disembarked.我朝飞机处望去,已有6名乘客下来了。

14.front-page[frʌntpeɪdʒ]adj.(报纸)头版的:The divorce made front-page news.这场离婚成为了头条新闻。

15.air time/airtime[ˈeətaim]n.(广播或电视节目的)播放(出)时间:They devoted their entire airtime to covering the storm.他们一直在全程播报这场暴风雨。

16.embezzlement[ɪmˈbezlmənt]n.贪污罪,挪用公款罪:She was charged with being an accessory to the embezzlement of funds.她被指控为这起挪用公款案的从犯。

17.thievery['θiːv(ə)rɪ]n.偷窃(行为):Don't try to justify your thievery with excuses!不要为你的偷窃行为狡辩了!

18.prominent[ˈprɒminənt]adj.重要的,著名的,杰出的:He played a prominent part in the campaign.他在这次运动中发挥了重要作用。

19.adage[ˈædɪdʒ]n.谚语,格言:Remember the old adage—buy cheap,buy twice!记住那句俗语:便宜无好货!

20.merit[ˈmerɪt]v.应得,值得:He said he had done nothing wrong to merit a criminal investigation.他说自己没有干坏事,不应该受到刑事调查。

21.strife[straIf]n.严重不和,冲突,争斗:Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.钱在许多婚姻中是导致冲突的一个主要原因。

22.antagonism[ænˈtæɡənɪzəm]n.对立情绪,对抗情绪,敌对,敌意:The antagonism he felt towards his old enemy was still very strong.他对宿敌的仇恨仍然十分强烈。

23.confrontation[ˌkɒnfrʌnˈteɪʃn]n.对抗,冲突,战斗,战役:We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。

24.saga[ˈsɑːɡə]n.长篇故事,一连串事件:The front page is devoted to the continuing saga of the hijack.头版是对劫持事件的连续报道。

25.nuanced['njuːɑːnst]adj.(意义,声音,颜色,感情等方面)有细微差别的:The World Health Organization has given a more nuanced response.世界卫生组织提供了更为微妙的回应。

26.deviate[ˈdiːvieɪt]v.背离,偏离,违背:The bus had to deviate from its usual route because of a road closure.因为道路封闭,公共汽车只得绕道而行。Don't deviate from major issues.不要偏离主要问题。

27.bizarre[biˈzɑː(r)]adj.奇形怪状的,怪诞的:They saw a bizarre animal in the lake.他们在湖中看见一个奇怪的动物。

28.wondrous[ˈwʌndrəs]adj.奇异的,美妙的,令人惊叹的:We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊和森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

29.necessity[nəˈsesəti]n.必然性,不可避免的情况:Living in London he felt,was an unfortunate necessity.他觉得在伦敦生活是迫于无奈。

30.disclose[dɪsˈkləʊz]v.揭露,透露,泄露:The spokesman refused to disclose details of the takeover to the press.发言人拒绝向新闻界透露公司收购的详细情况。

31.remedy[ˈremədi]v.改正,纠正,改进:A great deal has been done internally to remedy the situation.已经做了很多内部工作对这种情形进行补救。

32.vacuum[ˈvækjəm]n.真空状态,空白,空虚:His resignation has created a vacuum which cannot easily be filled.他的引退造成了难以填补的空白。

Exercises

I.Content Questions

Answer the questions based upon text comprehension.

(1)What does timeliness mean?

(2)What's the relationship between news value and time?

(3)Do you agree that names make news?Why?

(4)What is conscience ofjournalism?

(5)Is there any other news value?What are they?

II.Vocabulary

Fill in the gaps with words and phrases given in the table.

(1)Catherine _________that report for the BBC from India.

(2)How does the news media decide what is _________?

(3)The news_________ is a statement of the most significant aspect of an event and presented as simply and clearly as possible in the first paragraph.

(4)The scandal was _________by a well-informed journalist.

(5)Now a special TV network gives live_________ of most races.

(6)The fact that the president will step down_________national coverage.

(7)The journalist asked the committee not to_________ from major issues.

(8)The spokesman refused to _________details of the takeover to the press.

III.Translation

Translate the sentences into Chinese.

(1)How does a reporter or editor determine what events are so unusual and what information is so necessary that the public should be informed of them?

(2)No matter how significant the event,how important the people involved,news value diminishes with time.

(3)They talk about giving high priority in their coverage to situations that people need to know about to be well informed.

(4)Events that deviate sharply from the expected,that depart considerably from the experiences of everyday life make news.

(5)Their application depends on those who are deciding what news is,where the event and the news medium are located,the tradition of the newspaper or station,its audience and a host of other factors. wcqNONGGe8xAVvMYXze76FkYLZEWGwJzq6S8iDZgQRkz1R1q1cCXJAQvKq11DR7s

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