NEWS VALUES AND ELEMENTS OF NEWS:MISCELLANEOUS NEWS VALUES

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LESSON 06

NEWS VALUES AND ELEMENTS OF NEWS

12. CONSEQUENCE

Any event or statement of any important person in a society, capable enough to affect a larger number of

people in future, carries newsworthiness and must be given space in news bulletin. The incident, as a matter

of fact, at the time of its taking place, may not be that important but in future may acquire a great deal of

significance in terms of affecting people in one way or another.

Likewise, under the head of CONSEQUENCE, there may be a statement of any personality who enjoys the

authority and power of policy making in a state or society and he makes a policy statement that concerns

with the coming days of people.

For instance, if metrological office declares a dry weather for the whole year with nominal amount of rains,

it means that drought in region may be expected in future.

Every government, during its tenure, every year, announces budget for coming monetary and fiscal year in

which new taxes are imposed and some already existing taxes are rescheduled where as some commodities

and goods are declared tax free; some imports are declared free from customs duty where as on certain

imports custom duty is levied.

It is to be noted, all announcements regarding rise or fall in prices of different commodities and services

does not have any immediate affect on the lives of the people but it does after the date the decisions are put

into effect. It follows from this, the budget speech is important in terms of consequence.

The announcements of rise or fall in the prices of certain utilities, such as, petroleum products and

electricity, also come in such news stories.

13. MISCELLANEOUS NEWS VALUES

There are certain news stories which though do not posses any of the news values mentioned above but

still, find place in newspaper, radio, and TV bulletin. Such news stories, in any way, are news stories.

Migratory birds, flying from extreme cold regions to warm ones covering thousands and thousands of miles,

make news.

A dog saving his master from being robbed makes news.

Anniversaries of different people are covered as news. Birth and death anniversaries of Quaid-e- Azam

Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal are celebrated in reverence and respect therefore they

will be included in news bulletins.

Special days are covered as news

Observance of 14th August as Independence Day

23rd March as Pakistan Day

6th September as Pakistan Air Force Day

7th September as Pakistan Defense Day

1st May as Labor Day

5th January as Kashmir Solidarity Day

Besides above stated special days, 14th February as Valentine's Day, aid's day, father's day, mother's day, etc.

have also been started being observed in Pakistan and news stories covering these special days now become

a part of the news bulletins.

Conclusion "News values are subjective."

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ELEMENTS OF NEWS

While dealing with news, two stages we have covered so far. First, to see what we call news, what actually is

news? Second, to understand those features that convert an ordinary event or statement or opinion, into

news.

Now we go into details of news elements. News must carry following elements to come up to the ideal

standards of news.

Accuracy

Meaningful

Interesting

Factual

Objectivity

Conciseness

Clarity

Comprehensiveness

Cohesiveness

Let us go into the details of each and every news element.

1. Accuracy

When we say `a news item must be accurate' we actually mean that whatever we are required to produce

as news, or whatever we are being given in the name of news to believe in, it must be correct in every

crumb of its details.

The names of people given in the news must be correct.

The names of the places given in the news must be accurate.

The ages of the people, if required to be given in the news, must be given with precision.

The days, dates and time of the incident or speech, or accident, being treated and reported as

news, must be accurate.

Language must be correct in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, structure, and grammar.

Statements of people must be accurate.

2. Meaningful

The news should be meaningful and must make any sense. It also implies that it must carry any one, or

some of them, or all of the news values we have gone through.

3. Interesting

The news story, especially to be broadcast on radio, must be written and presented in such a way that the

listener may not get bored. It is quite a difficult task to be managed when it comes to writing and presenting

news bulletin since news is something that can never drift away from the principals of accuracy and

objectivity. What we actually mean by making news bulletin interesting is the reading effect in the tone and

style must be avoided by the news caster and spoken language is to be employed while writing the lines of

any news item.

4. Factual

The news story must base on the incident or statement which has actually taken place. In this era of media,

where the choice available to the listener is wide and universal, news on one channel can easily and instantly

be verified on the other channels. The taking risk of putting on air something fabricated or concocted will

definitely bring bad repute to the channel doing it. Hence the most important element to be cared for and

taken into serious consideration while presenting news is its being factual and truthful.

5. Objectivity

Besides being accurate and factual, a news story needs to be to-the-point as well. Unnecessary details,

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though may be a part of the incident, should be brushed aside.

Another thing that is important to be considered while making the element of objectivity certain in a news

story is that it must not be given personal touch or flavour. Even a slight impression of personal emotions

or any kind of exaggeration may endanger the objectivity of the bulletin.

6. Conciseness

When it is said, a news story must be concise, it means, it should not be unnecessarily lengthy. Where unnecessary

details are to be avoided, unnecessary wording must also be pruned out. Verbosity always kills the purpose

and this is brevity that is unanimously agreed upon to be the soul of wit.

Wordy expressions and unnecessary repetition must be avoided. Your duty is to inform people about an

event; you are not supposed to make them understand a thick and problematic matter of psychology or the

reasons why crimes are getting rampant in our society. These may well be the topics of an article or feature

but can not be touched upon in a news bulletin.

One-word substitution saves the space and time, both.

7. Clarity

The main objective of news is to keep the listeners in picture of what is happening around them and in the

world. And the purpose is achieved only if clarity is there clarity.

Simplified vocabulary, easy-on-tongue order of the words, and correct and clear pronunciation are the key

factors employing which the goal of making news clear and understandable may well be achieved.

8. Comprehensiveness

If something is comprehensive it means that it is complete by all regards and aspects. A news item is

considered comprehensive only when it answers the every possible question that may arise in the minds of

listeners. As a general principal to make a news story comprehensive and complete five Ws and one H are

to be satisfied. They actually stand for: what, when, where, why, who and how.

What happened?

When happened?

Where happened?

Why happened?

Who did it? and

How did it happen?

Sometimes in certain stories it also becomes necessary to answer another W, and that is who for.

For instance, in vicarious crimes (crimes which are performed by an agent on behalf of some other person

or persons), it becomes necessary to give the person's name as well who the agent did a certain crime for.

First, to make a news item comprehensive, and then, the whole news bulletin, is a must. A news bulletin

must also consist of all the possible news items of all those happenings which have taken place just prior to

the moment the news bulletin goes on air.

Sometimes, however, it happens that an important news lands in newsroom immediate after the time the

bulletin has started. In such case, an attempt must be made to pen down the story at the moment and be

handed to the newscaster so that in this era of neck-to-neck competition the channel may not lag behind its

competitors.

9. Cohesiveness

The last but not the least one is the element of cohesiveness. When we talk of an order, a kind of symmetry;

a well-knit, well-planned, well-organized and even end-product, we actually talk of cohesiveness.

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It means that the order of the details to be put in a news item must be in proper order. Symmetry suggests

beauty and it must be self-evident in the construction of the news story. Asymmetry mars the beauty and

the listener does not go on with the bulletin smoothly and comfortably. It must not be jumpy and uneven.

To be more precise, a news item, and then the bulletin, must be well-knit, well arranged and well-ordered.

Difference between New Values & Elements of News:

News Value

We have come across different definitions of news and have been successful in drawing some

common factors which every definition, by and large, shares with the other one. The common features we

have drawn out of different news definitions are the news values. These are the values which lend

newsworthiness to a common incident, event, statement, or opinion. This is the first stage to evaluate an

incident against the yardstick of the news values.

News Elements

Once it is decided that this particular event deserves to be treated as a news item, the next stage is

to pen it down for a news bulletin or a newspaper. Now comes forth the expertise and the skill needed to

write, arrange and style the event, which has already been declared as a news item. The expertise which a

news writer employs while penning down the news story are called News Elements.

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