News Value blog task

1) Come up with a news story from the last 12 months for each of the categories suggested by Harriss, Leiter and Johnson:

• Conflict: Afghan conflict
• Progress: Switzerland voted in favour of LGBTQ
• Disaster: Coronavirus
• Consequence: London Knife crime
• Prominence: Philip Scofield coming out gay
• Novelty: Death of Kobe Bryant

2) What example news story does the Factsheet use to illustrate Galtung and Ruge's News Values? Why is it an appropriate example of a news story likely to gain prominent coverage?

The higher the ratings in this ranking for a news storey, the more likely it is to become news. Using the example pictured, Afghanistan is far from the UK in terms of geographical proximity. But the tale gains cultural significance when a young British soldier dies as British viewers see the soldier as' one of their own.' The first female officer to be killed on a severity scale is considered to be more newsworthy, as it is rare. The ongoing war in Afghanistan is a tale of persistence, but the interest in the storey also lies in the fact that deaths are not predetermined, though inevitable; a bomb disposal specialist may be expected to live rather than die, making the storey all the more surprising.

3) What is gatekeeping?

Gate keeping is the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other mode of communication. - google definition

4) What are the six ways bias can be created in news?

Where bias is created: 
Bias by selection and exclusion 
Bias by positioning 
Bias by headline Bias by photos, captions and camera angles 
Bias by use of names and titles 
Bias by word selection

5) How have online sources such as Twitter, bloggers or Wikileaks changed the way news is selected and published?

Twitter, bloggers, and wikileaks are changing the way news is written because the publishers are not journalists but regular people. It is an example of a lack of professional journalism, therefore the chances of published false news are higher.


6) Complete the task on the last page of the Factsheet regarding Sky News and Twitter:

• What does this reveal about how Sky views Twitter as a news source?
• What does it say about how news is being produced?
• What role does the audience have in this process?
• Why might this be a problem for journalistic standards?

Sky finds Twitter an instant source of news. 

Sky news indicates an increase in the amount of news people get through social media.

The population is consumers. 

The quality of journalism is declining due to the fact that the increasing amount of the population becomes producers.

7) In your opinion, how has the digital age changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values? 

The digital age has changed the news values for Gatlung and Ruge, because more amateur outlets are now generating more data.
8) How would you update them for 2018? Choose TWO of Galtung and Ruge's news values and say how they have been affected by the growth of digital technology.
Unambiguity: We believe in vague tales. It is about quality content.

Amplitude: The number of people takes no account of the story's quality.