Newsworthy Questions
By Dean Rotbart
What is newsworthy?
Does the word apply to you? Does it apply to your company?
Is there even such a thing?
Two major business news organizations serving the same exact market receive the exact same news release at the exact same time over one of the major PR newswires. (This is not a make believe scenario, it happens dozens of times each weekday.) One news organization assigns a reporter to write the story. The other news organization decides to pass on the story. Why?
If the New York Times includes "All the News That Is Fit To Print," then are all other stories unfit?
Who is the arbiter of newsworthy? Who is the keeper of the secret formula?
Can a story be newsworthy if absolutely no one covers it?
Is there such a thing as inherent newsworthiness?
Are some people inherently newsworthy? Why? What are the ingredients that cast an individual into the media spotlight one year and banish him or her to news obscurity the next year?
Would Fox TV be able to broadcast its celebrity boxing bouts if not for people who were once newsworthy and are now only news oddities? If Fox TV had existed back then, would Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton have duked it out on TV?
Did you ever see the movie, "Network?" You remember, it featured the crazed anchor who shouted "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." Well, was it fiction or forecast?
In the world of journalism, what comes first, the need to provide readers with relevant information or the need to provide advertisers with relevant readers?
When advertising needs change, does newsworthiness also change?
Does the commercial value of a story play into its newsworthiness? A little? A lot? None?
Do the covers of Time and Newsweek and Money and Forbes reflect the most important stories or the ones most likely to sell magazines? Is that a silly question?
Are there truly important stories that don't get covered because they won't sell?
Is it right or wrong to decide what stories to cover based strictly upon the appetite of readers? Is news a democracy or meritocracy?
What do you think of the concept that one news network promotes: "We report, you decide?" Who decides WHAT to report? Us?
Are the words news, fair and balanced complimentary or mutually exclusive. Do we want balanced news? Does every event have a counterbalance?
Where does society draw the line between news and entertainment? Is there even a line?
Do you watch a regular broadcast newscast? Why or why not?
If you do watch, are you seeking a quick, digestible dose of news? Be honest. Or are you seeking to be entertained?
Can what is happening in Afghanistan or the Middle East or Argentina or on Main Street or Wall Street really be reduced to a two-minute nightly report, with visuals?
Do we have any alternative?
What price does society pay for consuming a fast-food news diet?
Who has the answers to these questions?
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My next two-day workshop, aimed at business owners and small business executives, will be held in Denver. This is an outstanding opportunity to learn about journalists in the media capital of the world.
Space is limited, so make your reservations now. For those who've attended other classes there, you know the "magic" that accompanies these workshops. You may make reservations by email
Tjfr@NewsBios.com.
Fortune 500 public relations executives and agencies are invited to attend my two-day course in Denver. This is strictly for communications executives who work for or represent large businesses and want to hone their media relations skills and dramatically improve their success rates.
May 20, 2002
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