Embedded Files
When you take a selfie on your phone at a particular moment – say at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion as you wait in line with your friends – then post it on Snapchat you are making a judgment: Is this moment interesting to other people?
Right there you are making a decision of what constitutes news. But why did you take that selfie at that particular time in Disneyland? Why not before? Why not at another attraction? Who is in the picture with you? What is being shown in the picture? What caption, text or filter did you add?
So, at every step of this process, you are making choices that result in the creation of a particular version of the event.
Practitioners of communications – journalists and public relations professionals – are presenting a frame of reality, write Jennie Dear and Faron Scott in “The Responsible Journalist” (Oxford University Press). Just a frame, a sliver of the reality you observed or experienced. Within that frame is the information presented by the journalist. The frame can extend beyond the story: The look of a news broadcast or website, the print product or the social media feed.
The frame can influence how a story is covered or presented. As the authors point out, the way a journalist or PR specialist frames “a story is important because, first, what’s in the frame is legitimized as important, relevant and most worthy of people’s attention.” That means whatever is left out of the frame is not legit. “Second, the way we represent the news that is in the frame can influence the way our audience perceives their world,” they explain.
That concept of framing is important to understand. The term “agenda setting” means journalists don’t tell people what to think, but shape what people think about by what is presented to them.
For example, Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills was in critical condition at a hospital after going into cardiac arrest following a routine tackle during a game in January. That is the news. The subsequent stories that followed included trends in football injuries, how the NFL responds to injuries and safety of its players, and why the public is drawn to such a violent sport. Those topics, while legitimate, now frame the story and shape the audience’s view of football and its impact on players and the game.
This kind of agenda setting happens all the time when there is a mass shooting. The debate over gun control is brought up. News covers the same issues with the same players on both sides of the argument. The news media in its stories present some points but not others, making those issues in the frame as legitimate.
Types of news values
Types of news values
What this means for journalists or PR specialists is they must make sure the framing decisions are ethically justified, true and balanced. Don’t frame a story one way without obtaining all the facts. That’s just good reporting. A story will develop and change over time as new facts are uncovered or introduced.
One way to begin constructing a frame is deciding whether the story has any news value. These qualities are driven by what makes the story worthy of the audience’s attention. The labels for these news values vary – and there are many values. But the six key ones are:
Timeliness
Impact
Proximity
Conflict
Prominence
Novelty
Let’s take a brief look at each one.
TIMELINESS
TIMELINESS
When did the news happen? How current is the news? That’s why it is called “news.” It is new. A newspaper or day-old website would publish this:
A school bus loaded with high school students crashed head-on into an SUV in Fullerton on Tuesday, injuring five students and the driver.
On the web or broadcast, the news would be reported when it happened. “Yesterday” would have been “today.”
IMPACT
IMPACT
How does this affect your audience? Examples:
Any increases in fees at CSUF will impact students, even if the decision was made today for implementation in a future semester.
A major storm slammed into Orange County, damaging beaches.
PROXIMITY
PROXIMITY
Where did the news happen? The closer to where your audience lives, the more interest it will have. “All news is local,” a reporter told a classroom of journalism students.
Three days of rain and wind in Orange County caused significant damage earlier this week.
CONFLICT
CONFLICT
Stories involving conflicts people have with each other, government, business, groups are often newsworthy. Example:
A group of parents confronts the school board, claiming the district is teaching critical race theory in the classrooms.
PROMINENCE
PROMINENCE
Who is the subject of the story? An elected official? A celebrity? A sports star? Someone who has done a lot of good for the community? Often a person will rise above all the news values because the audience is drawn to the individual. Example:
Singer Carrie Underwood won The Country Artist of 2022 at Tuesday night’s People’s Choice Awards.
NOVELTY
NOVELTY
The more unusual it is, the more likely an event will be of interest to the audience. Out-of-the-ordinary events, a rare occurrence or people doing something unusual are considered newsworthy. Example:
A 6-year-old girl in Los Angeles on a quest to keep a unicorn in her backyard figured she would get the hard part out of the way first – getting permission from animal control. And she got it.
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