Galtung and Ruge news theories

Media A2 coursework

1. GALTUNG AND RUGE NEWS VALUES

2. For any story that appears in the news has to have importance. The stories go through a ‘Gatekeeping’ process which determines whether it makes it into the news. One known News Value list was written by Johan Galtung and Marie Holmboe Ruge (1965). Despite there research being conducted three decades ago many people still refer to the values that they identified.

3. News Values : Frequency: Recent events such as murder over long time events or big local events . Threshold: The scale or size of the event, for example if a high quantity of people have died in local fires attacks etc. Unambiguity: An accessible story that the public are able to understand or is simplified by the media . Cultural Proximity/Meaningfulness : A story that is relevant to it’s audience. For example people who have passed away etc. Consonance/Correspondence: Goes against the grain, is unusual or unfamiliar. For example the Jimmy Savile scandle. Unexpected: Something that has happened without warning and is usually breaking news. For example big crime stories within Corby .

4. News Values: Reference to elite persons: The famous and powerful (Royalty, celebrity’s and politicians ) within the local area are more newsworthy then ordinary people. Personalisation: Story’s that people can empathize and sympathize with, that effect the “everyday citizen ”. Negativity: Bad news sells. Continuity: How long will the story last in the media, is it likely to be covered over a period of time. Composition: There must be a balance of good and bad news. Such as community projects in the area and sport. Reference to elite nations: News on the nations that we in the UK want to hear about, like the USA and Europe .

5. Applying These T heories To M y L ocal N ewspaper : The main theories from the 12 selected that I will be using in my local newspapers are Frequency , Threshold , Unexpected and Negativity . Firstly Frequency will be used within the newspaper because shows recent events to the audience and it is obvious when buying a newspaper this is what they will want to see , so these stories could include sporting stories or local community events up and coming or finishing . Threshold is important because a big scale of news will attract a mass audience to read the paper so this could be local people dying in a house fire , this also includes negativity because bad news sells and this is what people want to read . The final theory that I will include is unexpected and this is because mass audiences love sad news and unexpected news , they love to read in to it . Some of this stories could include freak stories such as deaths , fires etc. , this is a harsh assumption but it is true.