| Introduction: | | | | (F3) unambiguity |
| Every event which is reported in the news, has gone | | | | (F4) Meaningfulness |
| through some kind of "gatekeeping" process. How | | | | (F5) Consonance |
| does a journalist or an editor decide what is | | | | (F6) unexpectedness |
| newsworthy and what is not? | | | | (F7) continuity |
| According to some media researchers, they refer to | | | | (F8) composition |
| a set of so-called "News Values". These are the | | | | (F9) reference to elite nations |
| criteria which enable them to determine whether a | | | | (F10) reference to elite people |
| "News Story" is followed up in the first place and | | | | (F11) reference to persons |
| then whether it makes it in to the news, competing | | | | (F12) reference to something negative)) |
| against all the other possible items. | | | | [Fowler, Language in the news, P:13] |
| News values are those professional codes used in the | | | | Now, Let’s have a more detailed look to each of |
| selection, construction and presentation of news | | | | these factors: |
| stories in corporately produced mainstream press and | | | | (F1): Fowler writes: "F1 says that an event is more |
| broadcasting. | | | | likely to be reported if its duration is close to the |
| News values are a result of the productive needs of | | | | publication frequency of the news medium. Because |
| industrialized news corporations. It is clear that people | | | | newspapaers are generally published once a day, a |
| who work for such corporations will display mixed | | | | single event is more like to be reported than a long |
| ambitions, allegiances, politics and abilities as individuals. | | | | process", (Ibid). |
| Within the corporation they are subjected to an | | | | In other words, frequency is the time-span of an |
| extensive division of labor. Beyond the corporation | | | | event and the extent to which it fits the frequency |
| there are its competitors, and the occupational | | | | of the newspaper’s or news broadcast’s |
| ideology of the journalist and the broadcasting | | | | schedule. |
| profession. | | | | (F2) Threshold means how big an event should be to |
| Within these contexts, news values operate to | | | | be reported. Is an event big enough to make it in to |
| produce a standard product out of the contributions | | | | the news? That depends of course on news organ. |
| of all such people, practices and beliefs. | | | | (F3) How clear is the meaning of an event? The |
| Language, as the main material of news, is the main | | | | mass media generally tend to go for closure, unlik |
| subject of linguistics so it is obvious that linguists are | | | | literature, where the polysemy of events is exploited |
| eager to work on the process of broadcasting. | | | | and explored. As Fowller says: "unambiguity is |
| Recentely many of the well-known linguists such as | | | | self-explanatory though it must be added that |
| Noam Chomsky (1988), Roger Fowler (1991), Van | | | | mysterious events, as well as clear ones, are |
| Dijke (1998), Allan, Bell (1991), Norman Fairclough | | | | newsworthy if they can be related to cultural |
| (1992, 1995, 2003), Guy Cook (1992), Michael Hoey | | | | stereotypes." |
| (2001), Paul Chilton (2004) and Marina Sbisa (2005) | | | | (F4) By meaningfullness we mean how meaningful |
| … have been working on a so-called subject of | | | | the event will appear to the receivers of the news. |
| "language of the News" and the term "News Values" | | | | (F5) consonance means if the event match the |
| is of great importance. | | | | media’s expectations or not. Journalists have a |
| Edward S.Herman and Noam Chomsky (1988) in their | | | | pretty good idea of the "angle" they want to report |
| pioneer book of "Manufacturing Consent" have | | | | an event from, even before they get there. It is said |
| mentioned five news filters and they believe that | | | | that if the media expect something to happen, then |
| these filters are now controlling all broadcasting | | | | it will. |
| process in the west. This research is going to | | | | (F6) if an event is highly unpredictable, then it is likely |
| introduce news values and especially twelve news | | | | to make it into the news. The unpredictability does, |
| factors, mentioned by Johan Galtung and Mary Ruge, | | | | however, need to be within the confines of |
| which are the most famous list of news values | | | | meaningfulness and unambiguity. Journalists say that |
| around the world and to see if these factors are | | | | "A man bites dog is news but a dog bites man is |
| working in Iranian press. | | | | not". |
| Theoretical Discussion:there is no suggestion, of | | | | (F7) once an event has been covered, it is |
| course, that journalists and editors refer to a list | | | | convenient to cover it some more-the running story. |
| pinned on the wall of the office, but, rather, that | | | | Apart from anything else, it allows media |
| they unconsciously measure a potential news item | | | | organizations they already put in place to cover the |
| against these criteria. Numerous attempts have been | | | | original event. This will depend very much on the |
| made over the years to pin down news values more | | | | nature of event. |
| specifically. But it is hard to collate these into a hard | | | | (F8) composition is a matter of the balance of the |
| and fast list of values, because different studies have | | | | news. It’s a matter of the editor’s |
| approached the whole idea from different | | | | judgement, more than anything else. If there’s a |
| standpoints, using different assumptions and | | | | lot of foreign news around, some of it will be |
| terminology. One of the best known lists of news | | | | dropped in favour of more domestic news. |
| values is supplied by Johan Galtung and Marie Ruge. | | | | (F9) Reference to elite nations relates again to a |
| Any media analyst’s discussion of news values | | | | cultural factor which is called "cultural proximity". |
| will always refer to their list, which was initially | | | | Those nations which are culturally closest to our own, |
| intended for the coverage of international events. | | | | will receive most attention and coverage. Some |
| Johan Galtung is a Norwegian professor who is seen | | | | nations, formerly called super powers, are more |
| as the pioneer of " peace and conflict research" and | | | | important in terms of news coverage. In part, of |
| founded the PRIO-International Peace Research | | | | course, this is conditioned by the fact that news |
| Institue in Oslo, Norway. He is also one of the | | | | organizations will have reporters already stationed in |
| authors of the influential article named "the structure | | | | European countries and in the USA so that when a |
| of foreign news" Published in Journal of Peace | | | | story arises, there’s someone there to cover it. |
| Research in 1965. Roger Fowler (1991) believes that: | | | | (F10) It is a rule that the media pay attention to |
| "a widely accepted analysis of news values in the | | | | important people. Anyone the media pay attention |
| following list of criterial factors formulated by Galtung | | | | to, must be important. |
| and Ruge; they are worth studying in detail and in | | | | (F11) personalization connects with unambiguity and |
| particular. It is worth reflecting on the great extent | | | | meaningfulness. Events are seen as the actions of |
| to which the factors are "cultural" rather than | | | | individuals. |
| "natural". The values they identified are: | | | | (F12) Bad news is good news. Bad news has many |
| (F1) frequency | | | | of the other characteristics as well-it may be |
| (F2) threshold | | | | unexpected, unambiguous, … . |