Newspapers: News Values

1) What example news story does the Factsheet use to illustrate Galtung and Ruge's News Values? Why is it an appropriate example of a news story likely to gain prominent coverage?

The higher a news story scores on this list, the more likely it is to become news. Using the

example pictured, Afghanistan, in terms of geographical proximity, is far away from the

U.K. but when a young British soldier dies, the story gains cultural proximity as British

audiences see the soldier as ‘one of their own’. On an intensity scale, the first female

officer to be killed is considered more newsworthy as it is unusual. The ongoing war in

Afghanistan is a continuity story but often the interest in the story lies in that fact that

deaths, even though inevitable, are not predictable; a bomb disposal expert may be

expected to live rather than die, which makes the story all the more shocking. There is

also clarity of facts from an authoritative source, namely the Ministry of Defence. This

particular story, in its online form, had about 3,100,000 search engine results, suggesting

that it was high on the scale of news values for many institutions as well as being of

interest to audiences.

2) What is gatekeeping?

Gatekeeping is the process of filtering information prior to dissemination. This process is usually done via the editor, but the gatekeeping process could be seen to be more than simply an editor choosing one story over another, it could also refer to how journalist select certain lines of questioning, or use some words over others to describe people and event. In general, gatekeeping is about opening or closing the channels of communication and, in the case of news, it is a way for news institution to control the ‘flow’ of information passed on to the audience.

3) What are the six ways bias can be created in news?

Bias through selection and omission

Bias through placement

Bias by headline

Bias by photos, captions, and camera angles

Bias through use of names and titles

Bias by choice of words

4) How have online sources such as Twitter, bloggers or Wikileaks changed the way news is selected and published?

Many mainstream media outlets criticise the ‘unprofessional’ practices of bloggers. For example, blogger Ana Marie Cox released exit poll results during the Obama presidential election campaign, something mainstream press would not do as they argue it could affect the outcome. Cox argued her blogs only affect voter turnout “to the extent people believe them”. She added that blogs have made it more difficult for mainstream news organisations “to sit on a story” but the amount of people accessing such news sources is still not comparable to the amount of people viewing institutional news sources.

Wikileaks, a whistle-blowing site, also cites itself as being a ‘raw source’ of information for news. Its only agenda is to bring about ‘transparency’ and ‘freedom of speech’ and it offers a way for audiences to access news stories that may have been mediated or censored prior to being reported. Barely three years old, WikiLeaks boasts over 1.2 million documents and “more scoops in its short life than The Washington Post has in the past 30 years”. The fact that Wikileaks only publishes raw material bypasses news values, however, this information is passed on to news institutions who will use the information for their own news agenda. It is unlikely mass audiences or casual news consumers will look closely at the Wikileaks data as a source of everyday news, it will be journalists who decipher this information and decide what they consider to berelevant for mass publication.

5) In your opinion, how has the digital age changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values? 

I think in the digital more of these news values have been incorporated in order to get more engagement on news stories.

6) How would you update these news values for the digital age? Choose TWO of Galtung and Ruge's news values and say how they have been affected by the growth of digital technology.

Cultural relevance- Stories can be viewed globally through the digitally age.

Continuity- People have easier access to news online and can keep on tuning and get updates on new information to news stories.