News Values

1) Come up with a news story from the last 12 months for each of the categories suggested by Harriss, Leiter and Johnson:

• Conflict- War in Syria
• Progress- Brexit
• Disaster- Corona Virus
• Consequence- Increase in London shootings
• Prominence- Trump impeachment 
• Novelty- Kobe Byrant passing

2) What example news story does the Factsheet use to illustrate Galtung and Ruge's News Values? Why is it an appropriate example of a news story likely to gain prominent coverage?
The example is about a British servicewoman who passed away due to an Afghan bomb blast. This is an appropriate example of a news story likely to gain prominent coverage as it has high importance to the British community as she was not only British but a servicewoman as well.
3) What is gatekeeping?
Gatekeeping is the process of filtering information prior to dissemination. This process is most often done via the editor but can also be done by the journalist
4) What are the six ways bias can be created in news?

1. Omission and selection - choosing specific stories to publish or ignore can reflect a particular viewpoint. For example, if a newspaper does not post anything about the Labour party and only posts about the Conservatives, it reflects its right-wing ideologies.
2. Placement - Where it actually is in the newspaper. I.e. is it important enough to be on the front page, or it it on page 5. Front page news stories are often important, or related to ongoing news so that the readers are enticed to pick up the newspaper and read.
3. Headline - The headlines are the first thing that the reader reads on the front page, so if it is phrased a certain way then it could mislead them into believing that the story is about one thing when it's actually about something else.
4. Photos, captions and camera angles - Different pictures, captions and camera angles can make celebrities/people seem unflattering. For example, magazines and newspapers that body-shame celebrities use unflattering angles and close ups of certain areas of their physique. Also, reusing images to create continuity - like using Obama to convey hope and authority. 
5. The use of names and titles - Names of well-known places make the news story more interesting (idea of elite people and places). Labels are often used - like labelling most violent attacks as a terrorist attack and associating it with Islam etc.
6. Choice of words - Using particular words conveys different messages. Using words with a negative connotation will influence audiences to feel differently compared to if phrases with positive connotations were used.

5) How have online sources such as Twitter, bloggers or Wikileaks changed the way news is selected and published?
Online sources such as Twitter, blogger and Wikileaks have redefined news as people are now able to share their own news to a large following making it get around more efficiently.
6) Complete the task on the last page of the Factsheet regarding Sky News and Twitter:

• What does this reveal about how Sky views Twitter as a news source?-  Sky views Twitter as a major source of news as it is now the place where many people young and old go to check breaking news such as on the trending page

• What does it say about how news is being produced?- It links to the idea of 'mass amateurization' as pretty much anyone can now publish their own news as if they are journalists themselves. 
• What role does the audience have in this process?- Audience are extremely important as they are the ones who make the decision on whether news is important or not making them more active than just what we used to know as passive audiences.
• Why might this be a problem for journalistic standards?

7) In your opinion, how has the digital age changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values? 
I believe that stories these days are less important/impactful as audiences have become heavily desensitised to news such s shootings as they are constantly happening and being immediately reported due to the digital way things are reported as soon as they occur.
8) How would you update them for 2018? Choose TWO of Galtung and Ruge's news values and say how they have been affected by the growth of digital technology.
Continuity- Social media is now able to constantly update people news stories around the world and report on breaking news immediately. 

Unambiguity- Most stories online use a clickbait tactic in order to gain a mass amount of news luring the audience in just to click. A newspaper is able to give the audience more clear and factual evidence.