Despite the increase in online media, major newspapers still get the largest share of audience share online. In fact, newspapers continue to break major news stories. Moreover, the printed press is still an important resource for researchers. It is worth studying the news values of newspapers.
Newspapers have large target audiences, and news articles can cover a wide range of topics. Some papers specialize in local events, while others focus on national or international events. For instance, some newspapers report on business current affairs, while others focus on sports. Similarly, national publications focus on international events that affect the whole population, while local papers report on local events.
Newspaper articles may contain a sidebar, or “sidebar”, which gives additional information on the news event. It may be in the form of a graph or timeline, and may accompany any type of news story.
According to Galtung and Ruge (1965), the selection of news stories is based on a set of criteria. They hypothesize that news stories should include the following values: conflict, proximity, and magnitude. They test their hypothesis by examining the content of page-lead news stories in three market-leading UK daily national newspapers. Their findings indicate that these news values are still useful, but that the original list of values may have to be revised.
In addition, scholars have explored economic, organisational, and cultural factors that influence the selection of news stories. Among these factors are the beliefs and expectations of journalists and their editors, the role of advertisers, and the influence of public relations professionals. Some studies have also explored the role of audiences in the selection of news. The rise of online media has influenced the media landscape, revealing the importance of audiences.
In this article, I will review the latest scholarly explanations of news values and consider whether they have been adapted to the modern media environment. In particular, I will look at how the news values of newspapers have changed since the 1960s. I will also assess whether news values are still useful for explaining journalistic news decisions. I will then propose a revised contemporary taxonomy of news values.
The article begins with Harcup and O’Neill’s 2001 update of Galtung and Ruge’s 1965 taxonomy of news values. These scholars have proposed a set of criteria for news selection and a definition of the newspaper agenda. However, while this definition can explain some of the details of news selection, it does not explain the overall process. It can also be used as a starting point for further exploration.
Similarly, Brighton and Foy develop a set of criteria for analyzing news stories. They also discuss the impact of digital media, rolling news, and broadcast journalism. They argue that while the matrix of variables still provides some useful information, the list of news values developed by Galtung and Ruge is outdated.
Although news values cannot fully explain the journalism process, they can provide a shared operational understanding of what working journalists are expected to produce. They have been used by public relations professionals, journalists, and journalism students to explain news. They are also used by others seeking to obtain the maximum amount of news coverage.
