Whether we are reading a newspaper or watching a television program, news is information about something that has recently happened. It can be good or bad news, but it can also be something that is surprising. Moreover, news can be from anywhere in the world.
In the past, news was printed and then handed to a news reporter who would type the story into the newspaper. However, in the twentieth century, radio and television became major means of transmitting news. And in the twenty-first century, the internet has entered into the mix.
As the media have evolved, so has the content of news. Various scholarly works have tried to explain the values of news. One example is Galtung and Ruge (1965), who discuss news values in terms of the way in which news items are selected for publication. Another is Harrison (2006), who outlines previous scholarship on the topic.
News items are selected based on their impact on an audience. In addition, an audience’s reaction can also determine the news’s impact. News values can be contested, however, because of practical considerations. For example, it may be hard to change an advertisement encouraging drinking. In other cases, news values may be contested because of the social context in which the story is written.
Moreover, news values can also be contested because of subjective influences. Subjective influences include social factors, such as position within the workplace hierarchy, educational influences, and cultural influences. They can also affect fluctuations in news values.
Another example is the Organizational Model, which describes the pressure applied to governmental processes by news organizations. Unlike the Mirror Model, which states that news should reflect reality, the Organizational Model states that news should influence the process of public policy.
Another example of a news value is the uncovered injustice. The purpose of the uncovered injustice story is to uncover unfair circumstances or basic inequalities. Some examples of uncovered injustice include basic inequalities in housing, education, health care, or employment. Some examples of uncovered injustice may also include drug dealing, which can be poorly investigated by the police.
Other news values include entertainment, which is defined by the level of interest the story attracts. Entertainment stories may include human interest, show business, animals, and humorous treatment. Entertainment stories can also include extreme behavior and show business.
Other news values include magnitude, which is defined by the size of an occurrence. This term can be used in the sense of extreme behaviours, but it can also be used in the sense of significance in numbers.
News values can also be contested because of the way in which they are selected for publication. For example, news stories may be selected for exclusivity. Similarly, an audience may be interested in local news. And finally, an audience may be interested in a subject already in the news.
Other news values include good news, which is defined by positive overtones. On the other hand, bad news is defined by negative overtones.