Galtung and Ruge

Theory

Galtung and Ruge suggested that the selection of news featured in newspapers is done by application of these news values - explicitly of simplicity - by those who control the news we see. They first outlined the list of news values in 1965.

They outlined several different values which I will be giving the definitions for on the upcoming slides.

Frequency 

This is the time span of an event and the extent to which it fits the frequency of the newspaper's schedule.

Threshold 

How big is the event? Is it big enough to make it into the news?

Unambiguity 

How clear is the meaning of the event?

Meaningfulness

How meaningful will the event appear to the receivers of the news? Hartley stresses in this context what he refers to as 'cultural proximity'. Events happening in cultures very different from our own will not be seen as being inherently meaningful to audiences here.

Consonance

Does the event match the audience's expectations? Journalists have  pretty good idea of the angle from which they want to report an event even before they get there.

Unexpectedness

'Man bites dog' is news. If an event is highly unpredictable, then it is likely to make it into the news.

Continuity 

Once an event has been covered, it is convenient to continue to cover it - the running story 

Negativity 

Bad news is good news in terms of what is reported.

Composition

This is a matter of the balance of the news. It is a matter of the editor's judgement, more than anything else. A different news broadcast will have a different agenda in terms of 'hard' and 'soft' news, usually dependent on the perceived target audience.

Reference to elite nations

This relates again to 'cultural proximity'. Those nations which are culturally closet to our own will receive most of the coverage.

Reference to elite persons

The media pay attention to important people. Anyone the media pay attention to must be important (this links to cult of the celebrity.

Personalisation

This connects with unambiguity and meaningfulness. Events are seen as he actions of individuals.

According to Galtung and Ruge, the strong influence of people, time and place when it comes to news selection should not have an impact on the fact that certain events which may take place do include content properties which give them priority.

This could be linked in with my main story, this is a story which features a teenage girl who has now been given an 18 month prison sentence for theft, this story definitely has more content that the other stories which I have featured in my sidebar.

People would much rather hear about a 'thieving teenage terror' who steals possessions rather than a business going bust, because it is more drama filled which is what people look for in newspapers.