Nine Essential News Values
This blog was created for my online journalism class. During last week's lecture our class went over the essential news values in journalism.
They are:
Timeliness Proximity Magnitude Impact Prominence
Conflict Novelty Emotional Appeal
Not only does BBC news online exhibit these news values but it also organizes itself in a way that is easy to navigate. If you visit the BBC news home page you will see tabs at the top of the home page that clearly guide readers on what subject matter they wish to find (see below). What I like the most is how they cover global news in such an organized way. The majority of these tabs are regions of the world that you can click on and see what is the latest news happening there. I also like how within each region you click on there are sub-tabs with specific countries you may choose from.
With that being said their layout of being able to pick a region gives their international audience a sense of proximity. If you wish to learn about something happening across the Atlantic you may, or you can learn about what is happening in your own county. However, one downfall to BBC news is that because they cover daily stories around the globe the amount of proximity within a certain region is limited. Only the top stories within a country or region are covered. There isn't as much of a variety as say the New York Times would have about daily U.S. news. BBC news is very international in its coverage so the proximity of their stories isn't as close to home as other news sources.
In terms of timeliness, BBC news updates their online site daily. They constantly update to the latest news in whatever field or region of interest. Another news value that BBC upholds very well is impact. I find they put daily occurrences across the globe into perspective so that readers may piece together how the events in one region may affect another.
Then in terms of magnitude, BBC definitely reports on a variety of people who are affected across the world. The stories that BBC news tells are more on a national level so the magnitude of what they talk about is more prominent. Well known public officials or individuals who have made national television are likely to be covered in a news story for BBC news. In this way BBC news distinguishes itself as a global news source and not a local news source. You will not be hearing about a robbery in your hometown from BBC news.
As I said before, BBC news does a good job covering international politics, especially the conflicts happening between certain countries and within a specific country. For example, as I explained in my previous blog, BBC continues to extensively cover the conflicts in the Middle East. They have also done a good job at connecting stories to one another. If you go to the Mid-East section you can read an article about Pakistan's outrage towards the Innocence of Muslims film maker. Then if you click on the U.S. and Canada tab you will see the American reaction to the Pakistani Minister placing a bounty on the film maker's head.
Most of these articles include pictures which help to bring these stories home to the audience. Pictures and videos help people relate and visualize what is happening. This multi media element of bringing the story home adds an emotional appeal. The novelty of the articles in BBC news aren't necessarily the most out there. But the news source does contain sections that aren't devoted specifically to politics. For example, they have a section for health, science and environment, tech, and business. But the majority of the stories covered by BBC are very mainstream.
I personally enjoy the tab that is titled video. It has a "one-minute world news" video that it plays and is updated 24/7. I think BBC news does a good job of engaging with the reader visually. It is rare to find an article without at least one picture in it.
Your two cents...
What do you think about how BBC news relates to its audience? Do you find they uphold all the basic news values? And what would you like to see the site do more of?
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