Types of News (news criteria and determiners, hard news vs soft news)

Criteria of News:

News is perishable. People want to know now. What happened yesterday, last night, or this morning is more newsworthy than what happened last week.

TV news is up-to-the-minute. This is a key application of new technology.

Negativityplays a large part in the selection of events to classify as news.

The most general relevance criterion for news is simply that it is something that journalists deem their audiences would be interested in and want to know. Getting a little more specific, anything that might affect large numbers of people - whether that effect is good or ill or neutral. Much of what is defined as news is information about whether things are, or will, get better or worse for the audience, or for some group of people.

The job of journalists is to take the temperature of events.

Criteria for News Selection:

Timeliness – The closer an event is to the publication date, the more new value it has.

Prominence – Important people are more newsworthy than others. Politicians, actors, singers--anyone in the public arena or public eye--are newsworthy.

Human Interest

Types of News:

There are two major types of news: "hard" and "soft." The term "hard news" usually refers to serious, factual and timely stories about important topics. The stories may describe a major crime, fire, accident, speech, labor dispute or political campaign. Hard news also may be called "spot news" or "straight news."

The term "soft news" usually refers to feature or human-interest stories. Their topics may be old and unimportant − but never dull. Soft news is written to entertain rather than inform and appeals to its readers' emotions more than to their intellect. Such stories may make readers laugh or cry, love or hate, envy or pity.

Most Americans are more familiar with the terms "good" and "bad" news.

Art of Public Speaing

I'm studying at the Faculty of Journalism now, and of course I must learn to speak correctly and clearly. I think that it's one of the most important things in this profession. A great communicator focuses on the person or on the auditory with whom he is speaking. Great communicators like former American President Bill Clinton and Henry Kissinger share a common trait. When they meet someone, they focus so completely on that person for the time they spend together, even if it is only for a few short minutes that they make the other person feel like the most important person in their universe.

A good communicator knows that vocal quality is important in communicating attitude and in enhancing the effectiveness of a vocal message. Grammar and vocabulary alone will not help you if the sound of your voice puts a listener to sleep. No one wants to listen to someone who mumbles, drones on in a monotone, speaks too slowly or too quickly. By working on your diction and the pitch and modulation of your voice, you will become a much more interesting speaker. A good communicator is positive and polite. Whining, complaining, blaming.

Than I should say about kinds of listening: appreciative (for plesure), empathetic, comprehensive and critical. I’s interesting to know that we speak about 160 words in a minute but we braining about 500 words in a minute.

A good communicator participates in a give and take and contributes to the conversation. Read magazines and newspapers, especially the editorial pages, to keep abreast of what is happening in the world. At least 30 per cent of the reading you do should be outside your field of endeavor. Only being able to discuss topics relating to your work will make you a very dull person very quickly, even among your colleagues.

A good communicator practices. Reading aloud quality publications will help you develop a comfort level in saying words and sentences correctly, there by helping you learn proper grammar. Reading aloud will also help develop your ear for the language. Watching quality movies and television programmers. A good communicator gets help. Most professional speakers work with speech or presentation skills coaches.

A good communicator masters the rules of etiquette and good manners since these are what grease the wheels of effective interpersonal relationships. Learn the proper way to make introductions and to greet people because that gets interactions started in a positive manner.

And there are some rules of public speaking:

Be sincere, be brief and be seated. Brievity is the soul of wit. The secret to be bore is to tell everything. Be fully prepared for each speech. Be honest in what you say.

Rules: Choice of subject, preparation, audio-visual ads…