US Army Journalist - Course - Survival Books

Lesson 1, Learning Event 1WHAT IS NEWS?In the simplest terms, news is a report of someone's actions, or ofan event, which has not been previously reported, and whichinterests or affects significant segments of the community oraudience.Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines news as:1. a report of recent events.2. material reported in a newspaper.3. matter that is newsworthy.Webster's further defines newsworthy as: sufficiently interestingto the general public to warrant reporting.News, then, has a timely value and it must be interesting to be ofworth to the general public. It must also have been previouslyunpublished. Once published it is no longer news, but history.Another concept which aspiring journalists must master is that theevent or the person's action is not "the news." An event may benewsworthy, but it doesn't become news until it is published.How do journalists, civilian and military, evaluate an event forits newsworthiness? Perhaps the best answer is the journalistconcerns himself and his writing with the events and people inwhich his readers are interested. The more people who areinterested, and the more intense their interest becomes, thegreater news value the event or the person.The reporter is a gatekeeper of information for his readers.Editors, therefore, require their reporters to include threefactors in their reporting.* Authenticity and Accuracy* Good Taste* Mass Appeal2