The Value of News

News

News is information about recent events. In many ways it helps people learn more about their world. But its value depends on how it is chosen.

When it comes to news, there are two prevailing views. One is that news is the first rough draft of history. The other is that it is simply a report of what is happening around us. Both views are useful, though there are differences.

Traditionally, news came from the government. However, in the twentieth century, radio and television gained importance as means of transmitting news. Likewise, the Internet has started to play a similar role.

Joseph Pulitzer changed the way that newspapers reported news by turning it into stories with drama and conflict. Newspaper accounts became stories that had dramatic focus and colorful details. He created a model for the multi-stage theater of the news.

While the news is written by a journalist, it should be factual and without bias. Nevertheless, journalists are responsible for choosing which facts to emphasize and which to ignore. As a result, the news selection process can have a greater impact on readers than the actual event itself.

News is also shaped by social developments. For instance, in the 1960s, a rise in special-interest groups increased the number of conflicts. Some of these conflicts are viewed as positive and some are negative.

Another example of this effect is the explosion of lobbyists. The influence of such actors can be seen in the competition for exclusives. This involves the influence of advertisers and the owners of the news organizations.

In the 21st century, a variety of technological advances has made the spread of news faster than ever. These innovations have led to the creation of new and independent online media. It has also challenged traditional news organizations.

As such, news has undergone a lot of changes since the 1960s. Some media critics argue that news delivery is based on market research. Others have suggested that news is simply whatever the government says it is.

Those who think rumors are dangerous should watch out for news. Many journalists are now performing news gathering on social networking platforms. They are also experimenting with automated news gathering.

News values are still not well defined in the literature. Nonetheless, scholars have developed taxonomies of their own. Examples include Galtung and Ruge’s 1965 taxonomy and Brighton and Foy’s 2007 analysis. Despite the lack of empirical data, these studies can provide a foundation for further discussion.

According to Lavie and Lehman-Wilzig (2003), there is little difference between men and women in the factors that determine which news articles they select. Similarly, Shoemaker and Cohen (2006) found the same newsworthiness model for a wide range of countries.

Other scholarly explanations of news values include those of Robert E. Park, who wrote “News as a Form of Knowledge” in 1940. Meanwhile, Stephen J. Milner, an historian of Renaissance Florence, has published Town Criers and the Information Economy of Renaissance Florence.