“Elements of News”

Elements of news are what determine a story’s “newsworthiness.”   Use these guidelines and terminology as a basis for your analysis of the media we study (for the notes in your media log).  If the media we study is a movie or documentary dealing with a specific topic, the intention is for you to consider the beliefs and prejudices of popular culture as revealed in the media as a basis for your writing a report (as a reporter) using your notes (including the beliefs and prejudices of popular culture) for the support or challenge of your audience.  Use your notes as a way to ask questions about the topic…  If there is a blank area or inconsistency in your notes—that… and that alone is your clue that it would be a place to research!

Your Name:

Date:  

Time:

Topic Assigned to Report on:

Channel or location viewed if not in class:

Before taking notes, my reporter’s instinct tells me  that the main question to research for the audience is on the topic(s) of:

Title of media studied:   

Genre:

There are 10 elements of news that form the basis of good reporting:    

1) Oddity – (Oddity – what is odd or unusual that would interest people?)

2) Emotion – (Emotion – How do people feel about it?  Is this the strongest element to consider?)

3) Consequence – (Consequence – What is the effect on the audience/reader?)

4) Proximity – (Proximity – Where is the story?)

5) Drama – (Drama – What is the conflict?  Is there only one conflict?)

6) Human Interest – (Human Interest – What adds to our appreciation of being human?  E.g. puppies, love, loyalty, heartache)

7) Prominence – (Prominence – Both celebrity or frequency of mentioning in the news make a story strong or weak--  e.g. Princess Diana died the same week as Mother Theresa who noticed that the “Saint” passed away? Why?)

8) Progress – (Progress – What new things may better or change our lives?)  

9) Conflicts – (Conflicts – Man v. man, man v. nature, man v. machine, man v. himself…)

10) Timeliness – (Timeliness – Is it a scoop?  Is it a story about love just before Valentine’s Day?)

After taking my notes, I now believe that the main question to research for the audience is on the topic of:

Where I might begin my research to report on this topic: