| Ink: PressBase: Resource Book:
News Worthiness The amount of potential a story (event, person, or point of view) has is called newsworthiness. If a story isn't newsworthy, it is a waste of time to include it in your publication, and if you are involved in broadcast news, your audience may become bored and change the channel. Rate all your potential items on this scale. The more points, the better the story. Rating Scale
Rate your story on a scale of zero to five for each point in the list. You can print out this page, if you like, and copy it for further use. | Impact | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Timeliness | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Proximity | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Conflict | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Controversy | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Prominence | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Uniqueness | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Human Interest | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Updating | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Suspense | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | Available images/sound | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Explanation
If you're not sure of your ratings, ask someone for help! Make sure you're honest with yourself. If you've worked hard on a story it can be discouraging to realize that it has no news potential, but in the long run, by cutting the item, you're doing yourself a favour.
Impact: How will the story affect people? Does it matter, or is it unimportant?
Timeliness: How recent or appropriate is the story?
Proximity: Does the story closely affect the region in which it will be published/broadcast?
Conflict: Is there a problem, or issue, or is everything okay? Stories in which good things happen are still valid, but are usually less interesting than stories with conflicts. Don't forget a conflict may be between people and external forces, such as nature, or internally within a person's head (struggling to make a decision); interpersonal conflict is not the only type.
Controversy: Will the item stir things up, or cause arguments? Are there moral or social values at odds? Are there two opposing lines of thought? Controversy makes for interesting, often-discussed, articles.
Prominence (of a person): If you mention people in your story, are they well-known or in the public eye? Stories about politicians, actors, and other famous people tend to be more read than articles about the general public.
Uniqueness: How special is your story? Do things like this happen every day, or is this a once-in-a-lifetime event? Remember the old journalism saying: If a dog bites a man, that is not news. If a man bites a dog, that is news!
Human Interest: Will your story make people feel warm and fuzzy inside? Stories with a 'happy ending' are called human interest stories, stories that make people feel better about themselves and the world around them.
Updating: Will the story require future updates? Could it become a regular feature?
Suspense: Is the outcome unsure? Is someone in trouble or danger? Exciting, suspenseful stories are eagerly followed by viewers/listeners.
Available Sound and/or images: These 'extras' make your story more appealing to your audience. Remember: a picture is worth a thousand words! Your Score
If your story scores a 12 or higher, go for it! If not, try to find a different angle, or look for a different story altogether. If your score is above 20, congratulations! You've got a lead item on your hands. Contributing to the Resource Book
The Resource Book depends on users to expand and improve. For details on how you can participate, visit the Contributions page. |
