What will it take to get Ukraine on the front page of US newspapers? - Exploring What is News and Who Decides

CNL News Lesson

February 21, 2014 Added by Michael A. Spikes

Lesson Outline

REUTERS/Olga Yakimovich

February 21, 2014

It began with a tweet from copy editor and educator Andy Bechtel: “Wondering what it will take to get Ukraine on the front page of US newspapers.” That generated several responses, including:

  • “A visit from Miley.”
  • “Put a celebrity on a plane.”
  • “A time machine back, to say, 1975.”

 

Bechtel's tweet raised a serious question – one central to News Literacy – concerning what is news...and who decides. That last response came from a former colleague of Bechtel at the Greensboro News & Record newspaper – who went on to say that American readers are unlikely to read stories about unrest in a faraway country, and that coverage of international news is available on TV and online.

Seeing those stories on the front page of newspapers, he said, is a thing of the past.

But as Bechtel later wrote on his blog  “many people have a curiosity and concern about the world, not just their communities.” So is the unrest in Ukraine front page news, or not? And who decides?

With dozens of people killed on the streets of Kiev, argues Bechtel, newspapers (in print, but also on their websites and apps) can and should step up to provide context and background – and use events to publish a deeper explanation of what’s happening. (This BBC report is a good example of how to provide context and background to the images that people may be seeing on TV.)

As editor and graphics director Charles Apple responded on his blog, “The good news: Readers are interested in national and world affairs. The bad news: It’s increasingly difficult to get them to read it.” Apple suggests trying to make news coverage “fun and interesting and visually stimulating,” with the adroit use of graphic elements, such as blocks of text or “a huge picture” to help readers. “Perhaps we can spur their curiosity just a little bit,” he says. ”And once a reader’s curiosity has been sparked, there’s no telling what can happen."

Of course, as Bechtel notes, “it will take more than a standalone photo... to adequately tell the Ukraine story on the front page. It will require a thoughtful approach that explains the situation there and goes beyond the daily developments. I hope some U.S. newspapers will rise to the occasion.”

Some newspapers – like this one from Lodi, California – did just that.

The Lodi News-Sentinel from Lodi, CA

Others focused instead on other events, (such as this college basketball game: pic.twitter.com/zWtVI8MSgx)

Lesson Guiding Questions

  • We utilize a set of Universal News Drivers (Universal News Drivers: Importance, Timeliness, Proximity, Magnitude, Prominence, Conflict, Human Interest, Change, Relevance, Unusualness) in determining what constitutes something as news. Are dozens dead in Ukraine worthy of front page coverage in the US? What drivers apply? Are there some that hold more weight than others?
  • What is news? How do you define news? If you're drawing from our previous lesson on the News Neighborhoods, what are the alternatives?
  • Who decides what is news? How does that person determine its placement on the web, a newspaper, or other news source?
  • What role would more context play in the reporting of international conflicts for US audiences? How important is the audience in this case?
  • Do you believe that the coverage of the Ukrainian conflict changes overseas? How so?

 

Additional Links and Resources

Samples of coverage of the conflict from the BBC examining the press' coverage in the UK.

 

Coverage of the conflict from the US broadcast networks: