News values
Negativity Negative aspects of an event
News stories very frequently concern ‘bad’
happenings such as conflicts, accidents,
damage, injuries, disasters or wars. Negativity is
therefore sometimes called ‘the basic news
value’ (Bell 1991: 156)
Timeliness The relevance of the event in terms of time
More recent events are often more newsworthy:
‘the best news is something which has only just
happened’ (Bell 1991: 156). But timeliness may
also mean that particular seasonal events are
newsworthy, such as stories about Christmas in
the pre-Christmas period. Given that timeliness
in general is about how an event is temporally
relevant to the reader, Timeliness can be
associated with aspects of an event that only
just (e.g., yesterday) happened, that are still
ongoing (e.g., breaking news) or that will happen
in the (near) future
Proximity The geographical and/or cultural nearness
of the event
What is newsworthy usually concerns the
country, region or city in which the news is
published. Proximity includes both geographical
and cultural nearness.
Prominence/eliteness The high status of the individuals (e.g.,
celebrities, politicians), organizations or
nations involved in the event, including
quoted sources
Stories about ‘elite’ individuals or celebrities are
more newsworthy than stories about ordinary
people, and sources that are affiliated with an
organization or institution or are otherwise
officially recognized authorities are preferred
over others: ‘The more elite the source, the
more newsworthy the story’ (Bell 1991: 192)
Consonance The extent to which aspects of a story fit in
with stereotypes that people may hold
about the events and people portrayed in it
Aspects of a story become newsworthy if they tie
in with the stereotypes that people hold. This
can also relate to people’s stereotypes about
