BORDERLESS

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BY RHODA GARZON CAMPILLAN
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News values

AB COMMUNICATION students are taught of news values in their Journalism Principles and Practices class. Knowledge of news values prepares students for their higher Journalism courses.

Higher journalism courses include Advanced Journalism or Broadcast Journalism. Students are tasked to gather news on field and write them. At the end of the semester, they are required to produce a newspaper of a broadcast news program.

News values are bases of editors and journalists in deciding which stories should be put on paper or on air. The news values are as follows: timeliness, impact, prominence, proximity and oddity.

Timeliness is “the most recent event, issue or idea happening or being talked about.” It is also defined as, “any event that may have occurred in the past but have been learned about only recently is still timely.”

We can notice that news reports on newspapers and aired on TV and radio are mostly talked about events of the day. If, for example, the latest issue being talked about is Herbert Colanggo’s revelation against Sen. Leila de Lima, then expect this story to land on the front page because it satisfies the news value called timeliness. Citizens want to be updated of the latest happening; hence, the issue should be part of the stories for the day.

Impact is defined as “the significance, importance, or consequence of an event or trend.” Going back to our example, the impact of the story of Colanggo’s testimony is significant because it involves prominent personalities, including Senator de Lima. It is considered important because the issue tackles illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison and allegedly the payment of payola to de Lima.

The functions of a prison are to penalize criminals, keep them off the streets and for their rehabilitation and reformation. The prison is not a place for illegal drugs, prostitution and lavish lifestyle (based on Colanggo’s testimony). Indeed, this particular story is considered with high worth.
Another news value is Prominence, “news about famous or infamous persons, places, or events attract larger audiences; therefore, events concerning celebrities or government officials are usually in the news.”

In our example, the issue involves prominent people in government doing allegedly corrupt practices. Not only that; prominent events are also covered of this news values. These include State of the Nation Address, presidential inauguration among others.

Proximity refers to “closeness of the event to the audience which can be gauged geographically. Close-by-events, all other things being equal, are more important than distant ones.” A typical example of this, Ilonggo residents are more concerned of events happening in the city than issues occurring in Manila.

Another example is when the Davao bombing occurred. Although it is a national concern, Davaoeños are more affected of this event than any other regional group.

Oddity refers to “not only unusual or unexpected occurrences but also events that have conflict or drama. Controversy and open clashes are newsworthy because they invite attention on their own, almost regardless of what the conflict is about.” This explains why, we are so interested to know about a mother who gave birth to quintoplets or a woman who cut her tongue to offer to a deity.

We are so engrossed to conflicts involving showbiz personalities. One example is the feud of sisters Claudine and Gretchen Barretto. Their family dispute is all over the newspapers and showbiz-oriented talk shows.

Even if you are not an AB Communication student or a practitioner, your knowledge of news values will make you aware why such story is the headline of a newspaper or a TV or radio news program. Being literate of these concepts will widen your understanding of media topics.

So the next time you read news or watch or listen to a news program, try to identify the news values present in the news stories presented. Aside from having fun, you are also learning. /PN

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