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Dorothy Copus Brush Can all of THIS be news? What is news? Today we are bombarded with
so much so-called news we often feel we are being smothered. In an earlier day we depended on newspapers
where we could read the news at our leisure. Then along came
radio, followed by television and now the Internet. It isn't
enough that we have news 24-7 but we also have breaking news
spotlighted wherever or whenever it occurs. The newest wrinkle
is the short news summary crawling across the bottom of the TV
screen so you can read and listen at the same time. What is news? The American population has
overdosed and is stressed out! Back in November 1935, a headline at the top
of page 1 in the Crossville Chronicle asked, "How Do You
Define News?" Our editor must have been suffering a fit
of frustration when he used that reprint from the Pathfinder,
a popular magazine of the day. The story was written by another
frustrated editor/publisher of the Douglas County (NE) Weekly
Gazette, Frank B. Cox. He wrote: "News is when you have: died, moved,
eloped, been ill, sold out, sold hogs, been shot, been born,
had a baby, been drunk, been gypped, had a fight, broke a leg,
had a party, caught a cold, been robbed, had company, been married,
bought a car, been visiting, broken an arm, been courting, been
divorced, been arrested, stolen anything, gone crazy, lost your
hair, had a birthday, had an anniversary, been bitten by a snake,
had an accident, cut a tooth or had an operation." The subject of a workshop I once attended
was "What is News?" The speaker made several points.
First, news must have broad appeal to keep the reader's interest.
If the news story is unique or unusual, it is more likely to
catch attention. Timeliness is another factor to be considered,
as is telling the reader about things that happened in or near
their location. He ended with one exception. News is what the
editor says it is! Last summer at the Associated Press Sports
Editors convention in Baltimore, a panel of well-known sports
writers discussed their craft. Their emphasis was more on how
a reporter should tell the news. A summary of their points was
written by Calvin Beam and appeared in the Chattanooga Times
Free Press. Credibility was their uppermost concern. The
issue of fairness and giving space to both sides of an issue
so the reader could make his own decision was important. Accountability
is a must and means the reporter should make every effort to
confirm everything and not print rumors. Because every story
involves human beings, the reporter should always be considerate
and honest. The late Dick Schaap was one of the panelists,
and he stressed that the reporter should "learn everything
about everything. There is no such thing as useless knowledge."
Schaap, who was considered a role model to so many writers, also
warned on the importance of using the English language effectively
and being grammatically correct. So that's the news for this column. · · · |