News: different for everyone
If you ask various people whether a certain message is news to them, you’ll never get the same answers. News is different for everyone:
What is news?
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News
“You call that news?” It’s a question you’ve probably asked before when you’ve seen or read something in the news that you didn’t think was particularly newsworthy. But what makes something news, and when is something not news?
“Something that is relevant or entertaining for a small subgroup can be news to those people, while it’s simply ‘information’ for others.”
You could say that a news report always has an impact on (a part of) society, but that doesn’t mean the message is news to everyone.
What makes something newsworthy?
Journalists decide what gets published in the news. Various factors can make a message newsworthy according to a journalist: the impact of the event, proximity and relevance, involvement of elite countries or persons, how unexpected the event is, … If the event ticks multiple boxes, it’s more likely to be published as news.
Is news a window to the world?
Sometimes you’ll hear people say that the news is a window to the world. In other words: the news lets you discover what’s happening in the world. But the window doesn’t show you everything:
“News is a window to the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s a reflection of reality. It also shapes that reality through its selection and interpretation of events.”
The rise of social media also means that there are many more windows than there used to be, which makes professionally produced news all the more important:
“Professionally made news provides context for events and shows the bigger picture. This is an extra layer that you rarely get through social media and similar channels.”
The importance of news literacy
Although news can be different for everyone, that doesn’t mean anything can be news. Think for example of fake news. That’s why news literacy is an important skill that allows you to critically assess the news, amongst other things.
