WHAT IS NEWS?
(See pp. 36-37 in Harrower)
NEWS IS . . . .
. . . timely (new!)
. . . nearby (proximity: 1. geographic; 2. what other kinds?)
. . . about prominent/important people/things (who is “important”?)
. . . about human beings (human interest; children, baby ducks and puppies)
. . . about conflict, tension, competition, disagreement.
. . . about novelty—the weird, novel and unusual (“Gee whiz!” Man bites dog, etc.)
. . . about consequence—So what?—impact; it is relevant/important/useful to people’s lives (discuss selective perception; “News you can use.”)
When Writing News: Use THE FRED RULE (Explanation to follow)
Questions to ask yourself in deciding what’s news: What do you know? So what? What’s most important? (WHY?) Rank-order the information in descending order of importance.
WWWWWH
WHO did WHAT? WHERE? WHEN?
(WHY?) (HOW?)
(WHY?) (HOW?)
