glossary: August 2007 Archives
Key Concept:
spike
To spike a story is to reject it for publication. Perhaps the story is not newsworthy, important facts cannot be confirmed, or the reporter seems too close to the story to be objective. The editor would traditionally stick the pages onto a metal spike on his desk.
Key Concept:
Newsworthy vs. Snoozeworthy
"Dog bites man" is snoozeworthy because it happens all the time, but "man bites dog" is less common, so it is more newsworthy.
A Newsworthy Story
- is uncommon (rather than common)
- affects many (rather than few) people
- has significant (rather than trivial) impact
- happens nearby (rather than far away)
- involves prominent people (rather than ordinary people)
A plane crash with no fatalities gets less coverage than a plane crash with fatalities. A crash in another country gets less news coverage than a plane crash in your own country. Does this mean that the grief of a far-away stranger is less important than the grief of someone nearby? Philosophically speaking, of course not; however, in terms of newsworthiness, the closer the event, the more newsworthy.
Topic:
Key Concepts
News
Writing
Truth
Accuracy
Clarity
Timeliness
Relevance
Comprehensiveness
Proportionality
Objectivity
(Bias)
Transparency
(Advocacy)
Independence
Gate-keeping
Interactivity
