It can be difficult to wade through the thousands of news headlines that come across our screens and are found in newspapers every day. Some of the stories behind those headlines aren’t even worthy of being there, while better and more interesting stories remain untold. Why are some stories better than others, though? How do you, as a public service agency, determine what a good news story is and broadcast it to the public?
JGPR Academy can advise you on the best types of stories and how to determine the “newsworthiness” of an event. In order to be newsworthy, a story has to have a few key components.
Timeliness
In order for a story to be relevant and gain traction, there needs to be a close relationship between the time of publishing and the time of the event. A story about beginning a new training program would do well if published a few days before the program begins than two months after its conclusion. Some stories are more flexible, but others such as responses to fires and apprehending major suspects require swift movement.
Impact
What is the magnitude of this story? Does it affect a small niche of the local population or does the event make a difference in the lives of many across your municipality? While some small stories may be very important to a handful of people, stories that are important to a large pool of residents are more likely to do better. How does it affect the people involved? With more impact, stories are likely to be better-received by the public.
Novelty or Unusualness
Something new or different is definitely more newsworthy than a regular, mundane matter that has been repeated numerous times. Renovations or unveiling a new police or fire station are both newsworthy because it’s important to residents to see their taxpayer dollars in action and also because it’s a rare occurrence to see a new station built. Sometimes, it’s necessary for public safety to remind residents of the same laws and tips, but when a different event occurs, the story is even more newsworthy.
Hard and Soft News
These two concepts are very important when dealing with the newsworthiness of a story. Hard news is breaking, quick and time-sensitive news that deals with facts and important information, such as a chemical fire at PCI Synthesis/Seqens Plant. Soft news is not as timely and includes more feature pieces that dive into the lives and stories of people. These pieces can be important, but are also fun and lighthearted, like Medway Public Schools’ special olympics story. Both of these types of news are important and both of these stories were placed in The Boston Globe, but the difference is important to know when dealing with newsworthiness.