August 29, 2007 Archives

Hard news describes stories that are newsworthy chiefly because they are about events that have a significant impact on the lives of many people. Examples might include an outbreak of an infectious disease, the bursting of a downtown water main, a hostage crisis at a local daycare, or an attempted assassination of a dignitary visiting the White House. Global events, such as wars and crises, are hard news.

The story about the lonely zebra in another state that escapes from the zoo and is recaptured when it takes an interest in a police officer's horse?  Definitely soft news, unless, for instance the chase for the zebra causes a traffic snarl that leads to a violent road rage incident. (See "If it bleeds, it leads.")

"Dog bites man" is snoozeworthy because it happens all the time, but "man bites dog" is less common, so it is more newsworthy.

Compare the August 28 local TV newscast on WTAE-4 and the August 28 edition of the Tribune-Review.

The Tribune-Review is usually available on a rack outside the cafeteria. There is also a copy in the library, and at most local stores.

Write a 2 page informal paper that describes the three most significant things you learned from the comparison.

Update:

In the future I will ask you to submit your homework via Turnitin.com, but for today just bring a printout to class.