News: Meaning, nature and ingredients: IOJ

SEMESTER: I 

PAPER: Introduction to Journalism

UNIT: 1

TOPIC: News—meaning, nature and ingredients

TIME PERIOD: The aforementioned topic was discussed during the first week of August, 2025

Meaning and Nature of News

News refers to any event that is new, unique and timely verified by whoever announces the news, namely reporters, journalists, broadcasters and so on. 

The word ‘news’ comes from the French word ‘nouvelles’, which refers to new things; news is also referred to as a popular acronym which stands for ‘North, East, West and South’ and ‘Notable Events, Weather and Sports’.

  News has to be in simple language, direct and concise. In newspapers, broadcast channels, radios and even social media, news is consumed by several demographics, including but not limited to seven year old children and seventy year old senior citizens. Therefore news should be presented in a way that is palatable to everyone.

  News releases on every platform follow the Inverted Pyramid style. Now, one may ask as to what is the aforementioned Inverted Pyramid style, which is nothing but the order of events from the most important to the least important, making the structure of  press releases much like an upside-down pyramid. A press release that follows this format delivers the essential information only, in descending order of importance. The opening lines in such releases usually cover the five Ws of journalism, namely who, what, when, where and why.

   The news coverage of a platform depends on where they are based and what kind of platform they are; global, national or local. News channels and newspapers in North India often focus on issues in North India while glossing over and giving little attention to issues in the Northeast or South India. Similarly, local news channels rarely go beyond the scope of their locations, with global issues and issues in a different part of the country not being covered as much as local happenings.

   In the present day scene of journalism where citizen journalism is on the rise in multiple social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and multiple inconsistent, unverified testimonies of incidents are rampant in the platforms,  backgrounders are an essential tool, to fact check and to go into an in depth analysis of a news report. We can define a backgrounder as an informational article or a document which provides detailed information on a specific subject, with respect to the current incidents and happenings. It doesn’t just state the facts about an incident—it also explains the reason, context and significance behind it. It mainly covers two of the five Ws of journalism, the “why” behind the “what” of a news. A backgrounder must be engaging and compelling, provide connections with the different narratives and clarify issues that aren’t within the scope of an average citizen. Crafting a backgrounder link also requires rigorous research, with the relevance and timeliness of the topic, and organising skills so that the content that is presented to the reader, viewer or listener is compelling—both in narrative and visuals, and insightful. 

      Let us discuss the way in which news is composed and communicated. It is the factor which influences how the audience perceives an event. A journalist's responsibility is to present the news to the audience in a straightforward manner, utilizing clear and comprehensible language. In the context of real-time reporting, it is crucial that the news being reported is informative and encompasses all relevant events, which is where the ability to improvise becomes essential. Even with prepared notes, live news bulletins often encounter unexpected real-time updates, technical difficulties, and other challenges that reporters must navigate. The actions and methods they employ afterward, which may not be obvious to viewers, can be attributed to their adeptness in improvising their notes and reorganizing the information.

   A vital part of news is also the source to which a piece of news can be credited to. The byline of an article in a newspaper or a magazine gives us the name of the author of that particular article. They are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, though some are placed at the end for more space for graphical elements under the headline and above the main body.

  In short, news is the reporting of events to an audience, but out of everything that happens in the world, only a tiny percentage of that makes it into broadcast channels or newspapers as ‘news stories’. There is no definition of news satisfactory to all.  Even though the definition of news would differ based on who you would ask, here are some notable definitions of news:

   

 For any event to be termed as news, it would have to be new information which is factually correct and interesting.

News is the factual report of an event. 

News is an announcement that is new, out of the ordinary and timely verified by the source, either from firsthand experience or verified testimonies that come from other witnesses.

News is an account of what is happening around us. It may involve current events, new initiatives or ongoing projects or issues.

“News is about the economic, political, social and cultural hierarchies we call nation and society. For the most part news reports on those at or near the top of the hierarchies and on those particularly at the bottom who threaten them to an audience most of whom are located in the vast middle range between top and bottom.”- Herbert J. Gans

Ingredients of News

At its core, news is the reporting of carefully selected events to a target audience, as multiple events occur around the globe, yet only a select few make it into the daily news circulation. This selection process isn't arbitrary - it follows established patterns that media scholars have studied extensively. Understanding these "ingredients" or news values reveals not just what makes something newsworthy, but also exposes the inherent biases and limitations in how we consume information.

The Core News Values

I. Relevance

News relevance operates on multiple levels - geographical, cultural, and economic. Research by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in their seminal agenda-setting studies demonstrates that audiences pay more attention to news that directly affects their lives. However, this creates what I observe as a "relevance bubble" - where important global issues are ignored simply because they seem distant. For instance, climate change effects in small island nations rarely make headlines in developed countries, despite their global implications.

II. Proximity and Geography

A major factor in determining if a story is newsworthy is its proximity. The nearer an important event is to the audience—whether that be physically, culturally, or emotionally—the more likely it is to have a direct impact on them, making such news stories more significant to the public.

  The geographical aspect pertains to a media outlet's local area and its nearby surroundings. A blog or a small-town newspaper would concentrate on local events, while a national channel like NDTV would cover stories of national significance.

   However, even within these larger geographical limits, a story that occurs closer in distance is more likely to be featured prominently in the news. A news station in Delhi is more inclined to devote more airtime to the Supreme Court's decision to remove stray dogs from Delhi's streets than to report on the Dharmasthala temple case.

III. Timeliness in the Digital Era

The concept of timeliness has dramatically evolved. While traditional journalism valued breaking news, social media has created an expectation of instant reporting. This creates a dangerous tension: the pressure for immediate publication often conflicts with thorough verification. The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing coverage exemplified this - Reddit users and news outlets alike spread misinformation in their rush to be first, highlighting how the modern obsession with timeliness can undermine accuracy.

IV. Simplification and Clear Communication

News needs to be easy to understand, but this can sometimes create problems. When reporters try to make complex stories simple, they might leave out important details or make things seem more black-and-white than they really are.

For example, when scientists discover something new about health or climate change, the research is usually complicated with many "ifs" and "buts." But news reports often present these findings as simple facts or complete opposites of what we thought before.

  Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, this phenomenon was frequently observed. As doctors and scientists discovered new information regarding the virus and adjusted their recommendations, news reports occasionally portrayed experts as if they were changing their minds or were unsure about their findings rather than clarifying that this is a standard aspect of scientific practice—where one acquires new knowledge and refines their understanding.

V. Unexpectedness and the "Man Bites Dog" Phenomenon

The journalism axiom "dog bites man isn't news, but man bites dog is" reveals our media's bias toward the unusual. While this captures attention, it can create distorted worldviews. Research by George Gerbner on "cultivation theory" shows that heavy news consumption can lead to overestimating the frequency of rare, violent events while underestimating common but less dramatic issues like infrastructure decay or educational challenges.

VI. Narrative Arc and Audience Engagement

Modern news often tells stories like movies or TV shows, with good guys, bad guys, and exciting plot twists. This makes news more interesting to watch or read, but it can also make real-life issues seem simpler than they actually are.

  For example, when covering politics, news reports often focus on "who's winning" and "who's losing" instead of explaining what the politicians actually want to do and how it would affect people's lives. It becomes like sports commentary - exciting to follow, but you might miss the important details about policies that could change your daily life.

VII. Editorial Balance and the Diversity Dilemma

News organisations strive for varied content, but "balance" often means false equivalency. Climate change coverage that gives equal time to scientific consensus and fringe denial doesn't reflect factual balance - it creates confusion. This reveals a fundamental challenge: how do we maintain diverse perspectives while avoiding the trap of treating all opinions as equally valid?

VIII. Conflict as Entertainment

Conflict drives engagement, but constant exposure to adversarial framing may contribute to societal polarization. Studies by Amber Boydstun and others show that conflict-focused news coverage can increase political animosity and decrease civic engagement. The question becomes: are we informing citizens or inadvertently encouraging division?

IX. Celebrity Culture and Entertainment Journalism

Celebrities are individuals who have achieved a level of fame and public recognition, often through their work in entertainment, sports, or social media. Their prominence as public figures makes them newsworthy, as their personal lives, successes, and controversies draw attention.

   Celebrities also set trends, influencing people with their actions and views. News about celebrities and entertainment is considered soft news because it appeals to human interest and provides a break from the more serious hard news we usually consume.

   For instance, when Hailey Bieber, a well-known model and the wife of pop star Justin Bieber, is seen at a pizza restaurant, it has a greater impact on the restaurant than if an unknown wealthy woman from Beverly Hills visited the same place.

X. Innovation vs. Novelty

There's an important distinction between genuine innovation in journalism and mere novelty-seeking. While new storytelling techniques and platforms can enhance understanding, the pursuit of "viral" content can compromise journalistic integrity. The rise of TikTok journalism illustrates this tension: can complex issues be meaningfully addressed in 60-second videos?

XI. Audience Impact and the Feedback Loop

Perhaps most critically, these news values create a self-reinforcing cycle. Audiences shaped by these selection criteria expect more of the same, making it difficult for news organisations to break free from these patterns. This raises fundamental questions about journalism's role: should it give people what they want or what they need?

XII. The Verification Challenge in the Digital Age

The digital era has made verification both more important and more challenging. With deepfakes, bot networks, and sophisticated misinformation campaigns, the traditional methods of source verification are no longer sufficient. News organisations now need digital forensics expertise alongside traditional investigative skills.

Critical Reflections

These ingredients of news, while useful for understanding media selection, also reveal troubling patterns. They prioritise the dramatic over the important, the simple over the complex, and the familiar over the foreign. As future journalists, we must grapple with these limitations while working within existing systems.

  The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique lens through which to examine these news values in action. Early coverage focused heavily on dramatic death tolls and political conflicts (playing to unexpectedness and conflict values) while often inadequately explaining complex public health concepts. This pattern suggests that our current news value system may be inadequate for covering the complex, long-term challenges of the 21st century.

  What eventually becomes news reflects not just objective importance, but the intersection of commercial pressures, audience expectations, and these deeply embedded values. Understanding this system is the first step toward potentially transforming it. The question for our generation of journalists is whether we can evolve these traditional news values to better serve a democratic society in an increasingly complex world.

Link: Year 2023: https://vartikananda.blogspot.com/2023/01/ingredients-of-news.html