Newsworthy or Sensational?

There is a distinct difference between a newsworthy article and a sensational article. A newsworthy article has specific guidelines such as the level of impact the topic will have on people, how close to home the news is (its proximity), or the timeliness of the information. Newsworthy articles need a human interest and often involve conflict. Human interest can add value to the story and make it stand out. A news story can also be newsworthy if it is a novelty or oddity. If the story is something that doesn’t happen frequently, it piques interest. That said, it’s important that the novelty story not be sensationalized.

When a story is sensationalized, it only has one main goal: to drive as many readers or viewers to the story as possible. A sensationalized story is filled with opinions, and emotions, and is often controversial. This type of story usually omits facts and seeks attention. Instead of being unbiased, a sensationalized story is frequently manipulated to tell one side of the story. It tends to be negative in tone and avoids objectivity.

When you go to any grocery store, it’s easy to see the difference between these two types of stories. On the newsstand, there may be tabloid headlines about a public figure that are entirely false. Photos are splashed across magazines with headlines leading readers to believe things that simply aren’t true. Right next to the tabloid magazine might be another magazine with an article about the same public figure who donated millions in charitable funds with data to back it up. The same story can be spun in a different direction to appeal to whatever audience the publisher is seeking.

For a story to be newsworthy, I think it needs to be objective and let the reader decide for themself what it means to them. I don’t want to be fed misinformation or lies just to get my attention.