“When a dog bites a man, that is not news. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.”
Many famous journalists, living in different ages, have said this common sentence.
What is news? As I was taught in Journalism 200 class, the precondition of news is to have at least one trait among timeliness, oddity, prominence, proximity, conflict, human interest and impact.
However, in my opinion, there are two most important traits the news should have.
One of them, as expressed in above, is oddity.
No matter in which era, people are expecting something unexpected. It won’t be news if it snows in December. However, it is news if it snows in August.
Also, I think news must be new. Just like its name, the news is made up of new things. I prefer calling Brad’s divorce as news to saying the War of Independence or Princess Diana’s wedding are news. They are histories.
When the recent and organized information becomes news, the way to report the news becomes important.
I think one fundamental principle for news reporter is to be objective. If a journalist puts his or her personal attitude or emotion into the news, the public will get biased information and they may be mislead. And this news can’t be called news, but a story.
Also, I think the news should be reported in suitable tone and wording. According to the different circumstances, news should be reported in different ways. The Oscar Award can be told in a humorous way, while the suffering or disaster must be told in a serious tone.
I only have limited knowledge about news. However, I believe that everyone has the right to express opinions toward news, no matter right or wrong.