Galtung & Ruge - News Value

Earlier on I wrote about Galtung and Ruge's theory of news-value, here I'm going to explain the ways in which I've used their factors within my newspaper.

• Negativity - Negativity has been used in my newspaper in various occasions. My main use of negativity is my front page story about a violent attack on a teenage boy, to add to the negativity the attack was a homophobic attack. This story will then attract the audience as they'll be worried about such violence in their local area. This story was then chosen as my front page story as this has the highest news-value as this is the news that the audience are going to want to read about the most. Another story in my newspaper that I've used the negativity factor is the article about the council going against what the local people want by building a Tesco superstore by their block of flats. Although, this isn't bad news for the whole of the local area, other locals may be interested in changes in their local area attracting the audience. My third article (on my second page) also uses the negativity factor of Galtung and Ruge's model. The story is about the rise in petrol prices in the local area, explaining hoe it's cheaper to drive to the local city of Canterbury to fill up. This story will attract the audience as they'll want to know the reason for this as it's highly affecting them.
• Closeness to home (proximity) - I've used proximity in my newspaper through my articles, I've done this as all of the articles are about what has happened in the local area, for example, the main story on front page is about an attack in a local town, therefore, this is going to be meaningful to the audience. This is a key aspect that news gatekeepers have to consider. Although, I've also used proximity for good news in local area with my article on the development of Westwood Cross shopping centre. This will then interest my audience as they'll be keen to know the changes happening in their local area. Adverts?
• Recency?
• Currency - In my newspaper I've got an article about the rise in petrol prices, this would be linked to the currency factor as this issue is continuously in the news as it's been going on for a long time now. So every time a little change occurs newspapers will update their audience.
• Continuity - Continuity has occurred in my newspaper with three of my stories. Continuity will occur with my main story on my front page as the audience will want to be kept up to date with information on the attack. They'll do this to see who done it, what will happen to the attackers and so on. Continuity also occurs with my article on the petrol prices rising, as already this story has been involved in many newspapers already as the audience want to be updated on the story. Another way that continuity is used in my newspaper is with my article about the development at Westwood Cross shopping centre. Again, the audience will want to be kept up to date with the changes as it's in their local area and may affect their day to day life.
• Uniqueness - My newspaper has uniqueness with my main story, as although it is likely to see an article on an attack on the front page, it's much less likely to have one about a homophobic attack. This is why i went for this story as my front page story. As it will catch the audiences attention when they see it on the news-stand.
• Simplicity - I've included the simplicity factor with a few of my articles. The main article to include this factor is my graffiti article which shows the debate of whether graffiti is an art or a mess. The article is written very simply and easy for the audience to follow. The subject is also a very basic subject that all members of the audience will understand and be able to relate to as it's part of their life. Therefore, with a story like this the audience will be able to relate to it and due to this they'll be more likely to buy my product.
• Expectedness (predictability) - The predictability factor of the model has been used continuously through out my newspaper. I've done this as the audience have these expectations for the newspaper, so these expectations need to be fulfilled so that the audience get what they feel they should out of their local newspaper. The predictability factor is used in my articles, for example, I've informed my audience of stories like James Moore's violent attack as this will be on the locals mind, due to the impact it would have on peoples lives in the local area. The article on the petrol prices rising is also a predictable story as it's a very popular story to be in local and national papers. Therefore, giving the audience what they want, as again it's having an impact on their lives. Giving these stories a high news-value.
• Size - With my main story the size factor is heavily used. This is because this story is a massive story for a very little area and will have a huge impact on a large amount of the local people, giving it a higher level of news-value. Another big story I have in my paper is the article about the Westwood Cross development work. This is a big story for the area as it's going to have a large impact on everyone that lives in the area for various reasons. Due to it having such an impact on the local area it makes it have a high news-value.