Covering timely news is at the heart of what a newspaper does. Readers depend on newspapers for information they can’t get anywhere else.

That doesn’t, however, mean that finding, gathering and disseminating news is easy. In fact, the best news stories are not those that walk through the door screaming to be covered, like a car crashing into a dorm or a fire in Reynolds Coliseum. The best news stories are the ones that go beyond the surface, say, of what impact the budget now in the State House of Representatives will have on the campus.

By definition, news has a timely component. Without this timeliness, a story may lose some of its value and may be better reported as a feature.

Timeliness

When did an event happen? When is the event going to happen? A story on the State of the Union Address is not timely if it’s published in June. Likewise, a story about how the mall is getting ready for Christmas is timely in mid-November. Any story without an aspect of timeliness is not a news story. Timeliness is required by definition for news. If it’s not timely, it’s not news.

Events in the near future (today) are news, often more newsworthy than events in the recent past (yesterday). Events in the far future (beyond today or tomorrow) usually require a feature approach. Events in the past, beyond yesterday, require a feature approach or a more timely angle to make them news.

Proximity

Where did an event happen? How close is it to the audience—the students at N.C. State? A story has proximity to an audience when it happens close to home. A story about a murder doesn’t have proximity for the Technician if it happened in Greer, Ariz. A story about a car accident on Hillsborough Street, however, has proximity for the Technician. It’s also possible to localize a national story to give it prominence. For example, after a space shuttle accident, the Technician could report on the event through the eyes of a professor who worked on the design of the shuttle’s tiles.

Prominence

Who is in the story? What does that person mean to the audience? A story with a prominent figure or organization in it has more prominence than a story without. A story about a student who posts nude photos of herself on the Internet doesn’t have the same level of prominence if, say, a professor at the University does the same thing.

Consequence

What is going to happen because of this event? Who is going to be affected? A story with more global consequences is more newsworthy than a story with very narrow consequences. For example, a story about how one person lost his job and now has to find a new way to pay for college has less global consequences than if the state were to cut funding to the University by 75 percent. One story affects a limited pool of people, while the other affects tens of thousands.

Human Interest

What if that was me? What would it be like to be in his shoes? A story introduces a human interest element when it makes the reader feel some strong emotion. A story about the unusual rise of a particular stock doesn’t have the same effect as a story about a family who lost everything it owned in a fire, and the mother and father had to work three jobs each to provide for their children.

Conflict

Who is going to win? Who is battling whom? Audiences like to read about conflict, but the reporter and the editor must decide what kind of conflict is newsworthy. A story about an upcoming football game has more appropriate conflict in it than a story about two old men who hate each other.

The Structure

A news story generally begins with a summary lead that answers the important who, what, when, where and why questions. Follow the lead with a quotation that supports the lead. Follow that with a transition that adds information and helps the story to flow. Continue that quote-transition format until all the information is in the story. This format is often abbreviated LQTQTQT to remind the writer to write a summary lead, support that with a quotation and then to use transitions. News stories do not have conclusions.

Finding news

News doesn’t generally come to the Student Media. Reporters and photographers have to be out around campus and around Raleigh to find the news. They have to establish relationships with people across campus from whom they can get news.

While general news simply involves the coverage of timely events of interest to students, spot news requires the reporter and photographer to be at the right place at the right time. Spot news might include a fire in Reynolds Coliseum, the murder of students at a tailgating incident or a fire in an off-campus fraternity house. All such events require an efficient system of notification so that when they happen, the appropriate people can be notified and deployed.