This essay evaluates the presentation of three news values in the American newsmagazine NEWSWEEK. Before discussing the different news values in detail, let me first clarify the basic concept of journalism, name the different news values, and describe some general characteristics of NEWSWEEK.
It is one of our basic needs to get informed about what happens in our immediate environment or in the world. With the amazing development of the electronic media in the past few decades, we now have a large scale of facilities to chose from, when we intend to gather information. The television and the radio have become an integral part of our life, and Internet is on its way to get into our living rooms as well. However, newspapers and magazines have remained the most wide-spread source of information among the media. Their advantages still attract a huge readership all over the world. The printed material is easy to handle, the paper does not need to be plugged in, it can be read whenever and wherever we want to.
The main goal of journalism is to provide readers with news. This general statement is applicable to all forms of print media. The actual representation and the quality of the news stories can vary in many ways. There is a great quantity of newspapers and newsmagazines aiming nearly every layer of society. Although they can differ in many respects, they share some basic characteristics: they publish news, are printed in a specific period of time, and are distributed in a specific place. Depending on the period of time in which a paper is published, we can distinguish between daily, weekly, monthly, and other papers. The papers also cover different geographic areas. There are local, national and international ones.
The content of a newspaper depends on different factors. Both the publication period and place determine it's news content. A local daily newspaper publishes other kind of news than a national one, and an international weekly newsmagazine has again other types of news stories. We can read local news and advertisements in the local press, and a weather forecast in a daily newspaper, but we will not find this information in an international newsmagazine. The third factor influencing news content and style is the grade of the readers' education and social status.
There are quality papers and tabloids. According to the expectations of their readers, they present different events or aspects of events, they are differently illustrated, and contain different advertisements. Quality papers only publish news from reliable sources, they are formal, less spectacular and interested in politics and economy. Tabloids prefer to publish sensations and scandals and are generally more illustrated. The language of a quality paper is rich in synonyms and complex sentences, while tabloids tend to use simply words and structures.
Selling newspapers and newsmagazines is a profession. News has a market, it is a good, which can be sold for money. Obviously, there is a competition among the different news agencies and the papers. The more copies the publishers can sell the more money they make. This simple rule governs all profit making publishers who therefore strive to present highly valued news stories in their papers. The professional presentation of news is a clue to success. However, it is hard to decide, what makes a news item highly valued.
Allan Bell's analysis gives us 12 news values, which can characterise a news item: these are
negativity (conflicts and negative events are principle elements of news),
recency (events whose occurrence fits into a relative short period of time are more likely to be reported),
proximity (geographical closeness enhances news value),
consonance (news should not follow the stereotypical preconceptions of events),
unambiguity (stories and sources ought to be presented in a clear, unambiguous way),
unexpectedness (unpredictable events are more interesting than usual ones in a news story),
superlativeness (the most spectacular events rather than minor happenings get usually covered),
relevance (to what degree the audience can relate the news to their own lives),
personalisation (a personal story is more newsworthy than a general one),
eliteness (reporting on elite persons is more interesting than ordinary people's stories),
attribution (news from elite sources increases news value), and
facility (facts and figures make a news item more exact).
All of these news values can be found in the wide range of newspapers and newsmagazines, but some of them are typical for one specific kind of newspaper. The values recency, proximity and unambiguity for example, often characterise local daily quality newspapers. The news in such a paper are recent, within the ideal 24 hour span, and report the previous day's events. As the paper is local, most of the news items cover events which have occurred in or close to the area where the readers live, they are proximate. Being a quality paper, the news are presented in an unambiguous way.
In a national daily tabloid, the main news values are probably those of negativity, personalisation and unexpectedness. The title story in such a paper usually covers a recent scandal or catastrophe, something negative. The journalists try to present the news stories in personal terms, so that the readers can better picture the events. The most news stories in these papers bring some unexpected, rare issue, which is more newsworthy than the routine. Of course, neither of these news values is bound to a specific type of newspaper. All of these values can characterise news in any kind of publication, they overlap, and are present in every article or news story of a paper.
The international newsmagazine NEWSWEEK offers quality journalism and covers hard news as well as the arts, sport and lifestyle topics. Being a weekly magazine, it always has one week in focus. Although NEWSWEEK is located in New York, it's bureaus work all over the world. The content of the magazine is made up of 7 sections: EUROPE, U.S. AFFAIRS, WORLD AFFAIRS, and ASIA, each of them dealing with events in the named regions, while BUSINESS, SOCIETY & THE ARTS, and the DEPARTMENTS cover general themes such as trade, automobiles, media, computing, science, technology, and others. Through this wide range of topics, NEWSWEEK provides a balanced view of world events and also keeps the reader up-to-date with new terms and phrases.
Based on the cover stories of NEWSWEEK issues, I am going to evaluate the presentation of three news values: eliteness in the article "Royal Split," superlativeness in "High Risk," and relevance in "Whose Internet?" Being the cover stories, these articles are in first place responsible to "sell" the copies. They are on a privileged place for top articles and there, they have to wake the interest of the potential readers. These readers want to know more than just pure facts. They are interested in details and background information and in addition to this they would like to learn something or simply be entertained. A good cover story meets these requirements.
Eliteness is a common feature of NEWSWEEK's cover stories. The Princess of Wales, Lady Diana is by no means an exception. Her photograph is on the cover of the March 11, 1996 issue whose series of seven articles cover her story as well as that of other members of the Royal Family with numerous biographic data and background information. Monarchs and queens of other countries are mentioned and the Monarchy as institution is argued about in this 19 page special report. The journalistic efforts of historic research, quotations of other newspapers, friends and experts of the Royal Family as well as the interesting photographic illustration provide good grounds for the examination of several aspects of eliteness.
The leading event behind the article about Diana was the princess' announcement to agree to Prince Charles' request for a divorce. Though, the article starts from the very beginning, "Let us pause now, briefly, to recall the Wedding of the Century," then discusses the most recent event, the announcement, "[...] into what must be considered the Divorce of the Century," and continues with two additional articles describing the elite persons themselves (the Queen and Prince Charles).
One aspect of eliteness is referring to the personal life of the elite person. Getting divorced is a routine, but in case of Diana and Charles, it is of course, a spectacular event: "Diana fights for her kids, her title and her future." Beside the great number of background information, the comments of both the Prince and her, what is going to happen ect., there are some very interesting facts and figures: The amount of money that Diana was said to be seeking, and even more interesting in connection to that, the estimated expenses of her. Especially her extraordinary high outlays for clothing, "beauty," "health," and "fitness," "including a $5,400 item for monthly hair coloring" might amaze the 'ordinary' reader. The personal expenses of elite persons are often estimated in order to demonstrate their wealth.
Also every tiny private argument, every intimate word they say on the phone, every gesture they make in public is newsworthy. NEWSWEEK provides a chronology of the couple's marriage from their engagement announcement in February 1981 until the divorce negotiations in March 1996, focusing on major "public troubles" (printed blue) and "private battles" (in red). Among the private affairs, we can find some really minor events: "Camilla pix fall from Charles' diary" (August 1981) or "barely speak to each other during trip" (October 1987). Such pieces of information would normally be ignored, but in the case of Royals like the Prince of Wales and his wife, they turn out to be very important.
Analysing the behaviour of elite persons is another aspect of eliteness. The article "Mother and Queen" describes the life and the personal side of Queen Elizabeth. Her behaviour is criticised and she is compared to her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria who would have acted differently. We can read, how far Elizabeth is personally to blame for what has happened: The inability of Elizabeth to interfere in her children's lives ended up in the failure of three marriages, she has neglected the problems of her children because she is not able to communicate on a deep personal level, she is a cold and remote mother etc. These arguments blame the queen for the scandals in her family.
On the other hand, the author of the article tries to be objective and emphasises the difficult problems the queen has to face: It would be hard to behave like Queen Victoria in the age of Elizabeth, there is a generation gap between Elizabeth's and Diana's view of marriage, and being royal is not easy because of the enormous pressure of global spotlight. Now it is left to the reader to decide whether she is or is not to blame. Perhaps we will never find out. However, through the history of her life and marriage we can draw a picture of her personality and her reactions as the head of the Monarchy. She is perhaps the most elite person in Great Britain and it is very exciting to have an insight into the motivation of her behaviour.
Elite persons and elite sources go side by side. It is essential to know the source of any writing, before we can judge it. The article "The Private Prince" is a perfect example for the presentation of the news value attribution, which is related to eliteness. The author describes the life of Prince Charles from his early childhood, describing his career as well as his emotions and the development of his personality at the different stages of his life. Being Charles' biographer the author has had a nearly unlimited access to his personal sphere.
He describes his sources in two paragraphs which serve as a guarantee of their eliteness: "I travelled with him on the royal yacht, the royal train and the royal flight, accompanying him to numerous functions in Britain and on official visits to the United states, Mexico, Poland and the gulf states. I sat in on private meetings with presidents and prime ministers [...] Unprecedentely he authorised past and present members of his stuff as well as his lifelong friends to talk openly to me [...] Even more remarkably I had unfettered access both to his voluminous diaries and his vast correspondence" Everyone is interested after such a promise of the author, and expects a good story - actually it is one.
If we summarise the series of articles in the special report, we find a very logical, clear structured report, whose sources and content are based on the elite. Elite persons are in the focus, regardless what the article is about: the Monarchy ("Why the Monarchy Must Go/Stay"), the tabloids ("Flash! The Gutter Press Got It Right") or other monarchs ("Easy Lie Some Crowned Heads"). They are quoted and referred to, asked and interviewed. However, not all of NEWSWEEK'S cover stories report on famous politicians or VIPs. To compensate this, and to keep the reader informed about 'who said what', the magazine offers a special page, PERSPECTIVES, where humorous quotations and caricatures about current political issues, world affairs and elites entertain the readers every week.
Superlativeness has always been one of the basic characteristic element of news reporting. "The biggest building, the most violent crime, the most destructive fire gets covered" - and the highest place on Earth. It is the summit of Mt. Everest, defined as "an area about the size of a living room [...] higher than most airlines fly" in the cover story of the May 27, 1996 issue of NEWSWEEK. There are many dangerous places all over the world and a lot of mountain climbers die because of bad weather and accidents, but if this happens at "the roof of the world," it gets covered. Beside the death of eight climbers - spectacular enough to be covered in NEWSWEEK - it is the place of the event, which makes it even the title story. The mountain itself is in the focus, because of its big challenge and extreme conditions, which fascinate the reader.
The illustration has the function of pointing out the story's superlativeness. Similar to televised news stories, whose pictures are the most interesting element, a magazine attracts its readers with the illustration. On the cover, there is a picture of a huge mountain. Together with the title "High Risk," it suggests something dangerous, an adventure. The illustration of the article itself starts with a double page original picture of a group on their way to the summit. Perhaps the most interesting photograph is that of the climbers at the summit. The picture is recent - the tragedy happened a couple of weeks before the publication of the article - and is the last photo of some climbers, showing them a few hours before their death. NEWSWEEK shows the portrays both of the survivors and the fatalities, summarising the circumstances of their death / rescue. The map of the final route to the summit and the chronology of the disaster help to understand the happenings. The camps of the climbers and the route is marked so that the reader can follow the detailed description of the tragedy.
The special conditions on the mountain were the reason for many complications and for the catastrophe as well. NEWSWEEK describes the dangerous and extreme weather conditions in a shocking way: "By 5 o'clock, the snow was blowing horizontally, and the wind chill figures were in triple digits [...] when a storm blows in, sending temperatures to 40 degrees below zero." In a separate column, the magazine lists the most important factors above the tree line, which are dangerous for the climbers: extreme cold, oxygen deprivation, dry air and impaired judgement. Although the human body can manage these conditions to some degree, special equipment is needed to survive. NEWSWEEK does not neglect this question. It lists and defines the most important parts of the equipment and the clothes the climbers need.
Providing these additional pieces of information recalls the dramatic atmosphere and emphasises the dangers of the trip. Together with the pictures of climbers who "survive[d] with hands so frozen they clinked like glasses, dead black flesh peeling from their faces," they demonstrate that climbing the highest mountain of the world is in many respects a superlative adventure. The ambivalent character of this place: "a mountain of beauty and death" proves that.
From the article we can learn that the efforts of the rescue teams are often unsuccessful because of the weather. Although they reach the climbers, they often can not carry them to the safe camps. The rescuers - and many guides - have to decide between their own lives and that of their friends'. Those who leave their exhausted team mates alone can not be blamed for that, and those who stay with them often die because of this 'false' decision. A rescue member, Dr. Jim Litch gives a possible answer to the question, why so many people climb this mountain: "There's a passion and a closeness where you face your morality with your closest friends." This or other reasons might force people to go to such "deadly playground[s]" and as long as they risk their lives there, their superlative stories are going to be covered in NEWSWEEK and other professional papers.
Every news story should be in some respect relevant to the reader's life. The cover story of the April 22, 1996 issue might be - in geographic terms - the most relevant to the readership of the international newsmagazine NEWSWEEK. The relevance of the article "Whose Internet" is determined by its subject: the Internet. As there is - similar to NEWSWEEK - no geographical limitation of the Internet, the article is equally relevant to every NEWSWEEK reader, who has access to the Net.
The Internet was created more than a decade ago as a military and academic network. NEWSWEEK considers it now as a "technology that has the potential to change the world." As such it is relevant to everyone, or to be precise, it is going to be relevant, because "entering the century of information, no one can afford to ignore the services computers and computer networks can provide." There are a lot of advantages of the Internet. It is a huge source of information, and one of its greatest power is that it is an interactive medium. This means that the Internet-users can both receive and provide information from/for the Net. However this facility can be regarded as the greatest danger of the Internet as well.
The article points out the dangerous side of the Internet. As there are no controlling regulations - either in technical or in political terms - so far, there are some "'bad' things that come with it [the Internet]: pornography, crime, political dissidence, even cultural imperialism." NEWSWEEK gives some examples of such affairs and also covers the attempts of the different countries and governments to control the Net. The placeness nature of Internet, "a medium that's both everywhere and nowhere" prevents the individual governments and countries from any kind of censorship. A solution of the problem might be "globally acceptable 'laws' of cyberspace," but the idea of a world wide consensus remains today only an illusion.
NEWSWEEK has recognised the importance of cyberspace and our "Digital Age"36 and offers a special page for its cyber-oriented readers. In every issue, CYBERSCOPE brings the latest news about Internet&Co. News hardware and Web sites can be found in this section as well as useful information about the on-line services. In this sense, every NEWSWEEK copy is - at least for computer freaks - relevant to the reader.
Beside the news values eliteness, superlativeness and relevance, I could have chosen any of the other ones. All of them are present in almost every NEWSWEEK article. The actual presentation of the three news values suggests that NEWSWEEK is a professional newsmagazine. The sources are precise, reliable and always mentioned. The articles are written in an unambiguous way and leave no questions open. The title themes are elaborated in detail and the reader can gather the essential background information. In addition to highly valued news reporting, the magazine entertains the reader as well, which is the best evidence for its professionally.
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