What is news?
Sometimes what seems, on the surface, to be a simple question is actually very complicated . Ask me to define news and Im likely to answer somewhat flippantly, granted that it depends on the day it occurs and what else is happening.
Which is exactly what CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer says he always tells journalism students who quiz him on the subject. The minor disaster that is the Saturday news lead story may warrant only brief mention during the week when it has to compete for space with a lot more things that are making news, Schieffer explained in a recent on-air commentary.
As a journalist with more than 36 years in the business, I can readily attest to Schieffers comments. Yet it doesnt begin to encompass the myriad elements of, and rationales for, news.
Nor does it explain, for example, why a Big Story in one newspaper is a buried 6-incher in another or nonexistent in yet another.
And it certainly doesnt address the more subtle, yet significant, point of how news i.e., stories are framed, which is not synonymous with slanted. Framing refers to focus, while slanted indicates a bias.
Lesst this discussion seem too theoretical or philosophical to some, I hasten to say that, in the narrowest sense, news is generally thought to be the coverage of local, state, national and international events and incidents. These include city council meetings, crime, protests and war even kittens caught in trees.
But any honest discussion of the concept of news (as opposed to the actuality of news) must, first and foremost, consider a mediums general guidelines for defining and determining its importance. Then it must address who gets to decide what news fits those criteria.
Hypothetically, a roomful of largely middle-age white guys doubtless will compile a different list of stories for publication than, say, a panel of middle-age black women . Fiddle with the mix alter ethnicity and viewpoints and, voila, you likely will get a different news mix.
Even if the story lists are similar and theyre likely to be for the big news events the participants will probably disagree on how much space to allot to various stories and how they should be played: Banner headline? Insider? A mere brief?
Some possible stories wont make it into the next days paper, or the following day, for that matter. Maybe never because you have so much news and only so much space; because the news becomes outdated; or because more important news emerges. Or more interesting news.
We could, of course, walk this discussion down to the roads end, talk about story origination, about whether story ideas even make it to the table.
News, in the strictest journalistic sense, is only news if its published, broadcast or provided via the Internet or some source. Its an arguable point, I know, so we wont belabor it.
Some stories dont make print because a reporter or editor doesnt see a story there.
This ability to see a story as well as decisions on the shaping of the story sometimes has more to do with ones frame of reference than ones journalistic skills.
The term frame of reference, I like to tell my journalism students, is key because it refers to the way we see and interpret events, people and occurrences based upon our life experiences.
Readers, likewise, approach the news with different definitions and expectations. Th us, newspapers continuously grapple with producing a daily product thats informative, meaning newsy. But in todays media-saturated climate, where readers can opt for print, broadcast and the Internet, with all that entails, its not enough to simply be informative.
The news must appeal to a broad cross-section of readers with myriad, often competing interests and conceptions of what is news. To a large extent, newspapers, journalistically speaking, are in the fast-food business, serving up a smorgasbord of offerings, fully aware that your paper aint my paper.
Readers differ greatly in terms of the types of news and in what portions they want that news served. But increasingly, studies show, they have expectations of newspapers expectations that ultimately influence the news they receive.
Pilot managing editor Denis Finley, for one, believes that the definition of news has changed. He points to research that indicates that readers have said, essentially:
- Give me something to talk about.
- Make me smarter.
- Look out for my interests.
Finley noted that The Pilot has initiated some features that fall under these desires, including the Pilot Warrior (Look out for my interests) and the How Do I? series (Make me smarter). The papers coverage of the runaway bride met the first criteria.
Newspapers also face more philosophical reader demands that impact the news. For one, readers want a mix of good and bad news. They want to be informed and amused, with an absence of fluff. They want to be challenged to think, made to care and even outraged for the right reasons.
Newswise, these are awfully challenging demands. So challenging, in fact, that newspapers are likely to delight as often as disappoint.
But they keep trying, aware that each day offers another shot at redemption, another opportunity to achieve whats ultimately unachievable: the right mix of news.
