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Chapter 2

Powerpoints for Instructors

Defining news

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Exercises

Exercise 1: Newsworthiness

Access the Newseum site at the link: http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/default.asp . Look for a newspaper that is published in a geographical area not far from where you live. Looking at the front-page article headlines, try to establish the criteria that contribute to making stories newsworthy. In particular, look for stories that could be classified as newsworthy because of:

  • timeliness
  • location
  • familiarity
  • dramatic potential
  • seasonal or trendy topics

Look at the pictures accompanying the articles. How do they enhance the impact of the story on the readership?

Exercise 2: Location in online news

Visit an online newspaper. Look at the news that is considered most newsworthy (based on the criteria outlined in Chapter 2). What readership is the newspaper targeting? Is it the readership of the geographical area where the paper is published, or is it the international readership that may access the paper from the web? If the paper is targeting a local/national readership, explain how this is shown by choices of:

  • Vocabulary and/or expressions. (Are there words or expressions that are used in British English rather than American English? Are there words that assume knowledge of a particular socio-cultural background? Are there words or expressions that can be understood only by reference to a local language?)
  • Spelling. (What are the spelling conventions used?)
  • Topics. (Who are the people discussed in the news? People that are known locally, nationally, internationally? Are the socio-cultural assumptions on which the news is based comprehensible to an international audience?)
  • Advertising. (What kind of advertising does the paper contain? Are there ads that could appeal an international audience?)

Exercise 3: Use of non-neutral language in the news

The following headlines are taken from some tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. Underline the words that convey judgement.

Jack’s vile joke about Queen (the Sun, January 1, 2013)

Anguished Chelsea Clinton leaves NYC hospital where ill mom Hillary is being treated for blood clot (http://www.nydailynews.com, January 1, 2013)

A soggy goodbye to 2012: Revellers celebrate a wet New Year (from under their umbrellas) (the Mirror, January 1, 2013)

Shocking dash cam video shows Russian plane crash (New York Post, January 1, 2013)

Sour end to 2012 masks positive trends in America (Reuters, January 1, 2013)

Deaths from prescription drug overdoses skyrocket (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/ January 1, 2013)