Journalism Basics: Understanding What Makes a Story Newsworthy

What a News Story Is For

A news story helps a specific audience understand something that has changed or matters now. Its purpose is to inform with verifiable information, explain significance, and provide enough context for readers to make sense of events—without telling them what to think.

In practice, a news story answers two questions at the same time:

• What happened (or is happening)? The observable event, decision, trend, or discovery.
• Why should this audience care right now? The relevance, consequences, or stakes.

Facts, Claims, and Opinions (and Why the Difference Matters)

Fact

A fact is a statement that can be verified using reliable evidence (documents, data, direct observation, on-the-record sources, recordings). Facts can be true or false, but the key is that they are checkable.

• Example (fact): “The city council voted 5–2 to approve the budget on Tuesday.” (Verifiable via meeting minutes/video.)

Claim

A claim is something someone asserts to be true, but it is not yet verified (or may be disputed). Claims are common in tips, press releases, speeches, and social posts.

• Example (claim): “The new policy will reduce traffic by 30%.” (Requires evidence; may be prediction.)

Opinion

An opinion is a judgment, belief, or interpretation that reflects values or preferences. Opinions can be informed, but they are not provable in the same way as facts.

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• Example (opinion): “This is the worst budget the city has ever passed.” (Subjective evaluation.)

Quick Sorting Exercise

Label each statement as Fact, Claim, or Opinion:

• “The hospital added 12 beds to the ICU this month.”
• “This restaurant is overrated.”
• “The company says the layoffs are temporary.”
• “The new bus route is a waste of money.”

Tip: When you see “says,” “believes,” “expects,” or “will,” you’re often dealing with a claim. When you see value words like “best,” “worst,” “unfair,” you’re often in opinion territory.

News Values: The Filters That Help You Decide What’s Newsworthy

Newsworthiness is not a single rule. It’s a set of values used to judge whether a tip is worth reporting—and for whom. A story can be highly newsworthy for one audience and irrelevant for another.

A Simple Scoring Method (Fast Triage)

When a tip arrives, score each value from 0–2:

• 0 = not present
• 1 = somewhat present
• 2 = strongly present

Then ask: Which audience gets the highest total? If you can’t name a clear audience, the tip may be interesting but not yet a story.

Decision Exercises: Is This Tip Newsworthy, and for Whom?

For each tip below, decide:

• Primary audience (who is most affected or most likely to care)
• Top 2 news values driving the story
• Newsworthy? Yes / Maybe (needs more reporting) / No

Exercise 1: The Water Notice

Tip: “A neighborhood water system will be flushed overnight; residents may see brown water for 24 hours.”

• Audience prompts: Residents in that service area; parents of young children; local businesses.
• Values to consider: Timeliness, impact, proximity, public interest.
• Decision check: Is it actionable? Does it affect health or daily life?

Exercise 2: The Celebrity Sighting

Tip: “A famous actor ate at a downtown café.”

• Audience prompts: Fans; entertainment readers; local business community.
• Values to consider: Prominence, novelty, proximity.
• Decision check: Is there a broader reason it matters (film production, charity event, economic impact), or is it just trivia?

Exercise 3: The School Policy Change

Tip: “The school district will change start times next semester; some schools begin 45 minutes earlier.”

• Audience prompts: Parents, students, teachers, bus riders, after-school program providers.
• Values to consider: Impact, timeliness, public interest, proximity.
• Decision check: Who is most disrupted? What are the reasons and trade-offs?

Exercise 4: The New App Launch

Tip: “A startup launched an app that helps people split bills.”

• Audience prompts: Tech readers; local business community; consumers.
• Values to consider: Novelty, prominence (if notable founders), impact (if widely adopted).
• Decision check: What’s different from existing tools? Is there evidence of adoption or a local economic angle?

Exercise 5: The Lawsuit

Tip: “A group of tenants is suing a landlord over alleged mold and ignored repairs.”

• Audience prompts: Renters, housing advocates, city inspectors, other tenants in the building.
• Values to consider: Conflict, public interest, impact, proximity.
• Decision check: What documents exist? Are there inspection records? Is this part of a wider pattern?

Exercise 6: The Quiet Budget Line

Tip: “A proposed city budget includes a new contract for surveillance software.”

• Audience prompts: Taxpayers, civil liberties groups, communities likely to be monitored, city employees.
• Values to consider: Public interest, impact, conflict (if debated), timeliness (budget vote date).
• Decision check: What does the software do? Cost? Oversight? Procurement process?

Identify the Target Audience (So You Can Report With Precision)

“The public” is too broad. A clear audience helps you choose what to explain, which voices to seek, and which details to prioritize.

Step-by-step: Define Your Primary Audience

1. List who is directly affected. People who pay, lose access, face risk, or gain benefits.
2. List who has power or responsibility. Decision-makers, regulators, institutions.
3. Choose one primary audience. The group you will write for first (others can be secondary).
4. Write an audience sentence: “This story is for [group] who need to know [what] so they can [do/understand].”

Example: “This story is for parents of elementary students who need to know how start-time changes will affect transportation and childcare so they can plan for next semester.”

Audience Pitfalls to Avoid

• Too broad: “Everyone in the city.”
• Too vague: “People who care about education.”
• Not aligned with impact: Writing for officials when the biggest effect is on residents (or vice versa).

Narrow a Topic Into a Clear Angle

A topic is the general subject. An angle is the specific lens that makes the story focused, reportable, and relevant to your audience.

Topic vs. Angle Examples

Step-by-step: Angle-Finding Questions

1. What changed? A vote, a policy, a failure, a trend, a new risk.
2. Who is most affected? Name the group, not “people.”
3. What is at stake? Money, safety, access, rights, time, trust.
4. What is the tension? Competing priorities, disputed facts, unintended consequences.
5. What can be verified? Documents, data, records, direct observation, multiple sources.

If you can’t answer #5, you may have a tip but not yet a reportable story.

Write a One-Sentence Story Focus Statement (Your Reporting Compass)

A story focus statement is a single sentence that pins down what you are trying to prove, explain, or reveal—so your reporting doesn’t drift.

Focus Statement Template

Use this fill-in structure:

This story will show/explain [what happened/changed] and why it matters to [primary audience], focusing on [key consequence/tension], based on [main evidence types].

Examples

• School start times: “This story will explain how the district’s new start times will affect working parents and bus riders, focusing on childcare gaps and commute changes, based on board documents, transportation schedules, and interviews with families and staff.”
• Tenant lawsuit: “This story will show what tenants allege about mold and repairs at Building X and why it matters to renters citywide, focusing on inspection history and landlord response, based on court filings, health guidance, and city records.”
• Surveillance contract: “This story will explain what the proposed surveillance software does and why it matters to residents, focusing on oversight and data retention, based on procurement documents, policy drafts, and expert interviews.”

Focus Statement Self-Check

• Can you identify the primary audience in the sentence?
• Does it name a specific consequence (not just “controversy”)?
• Does it point to verifiable evidence you can obtain?

Create a Working Headline to Keep Reporting on Track

A working headline is not the final headline. It’s a short, practical label that reminds you of the angle and the main point as you gather information.

Working Headline Formula

[Main actor/event] + [action/change] + [who/what is affected] + [why it matters]

Examples of Working Headlines

• “District moves start times earlier; parents scramble for childcare options”
• “Tenants sue landlord over alleged mold; records show repeated complaints”
• “City budget adds surveillance software line item ahead of vote; oversight unclear”

Step-by-step: Turn a Tip Into a Working Headline

1. Underline the change: What is new?
2. Name the affected group: Who feels it first?
3. Add the stakes: Cost, safety, access, rights, time.
4. Keep it factual: Avoid loaded adjectives you can’t support.

Tip: If your working headline keeps changing as you report, that’s normal—but it should change because you learned verified facts, not because you found a more dramatic framing.

Mini-Workflow: From Tip to Newsworthy Story Idea

1. Classify the tip: What parts are facts, claims, opinions?
2. Apply news values: Which values are strongest, and for which audience?
3. Choose a primary audience: Write the audience sentence.
4. Pick an angle: Define the change, stakes, and tension.
5. Draft a focus statement: Include evidence you can realistically obtain.
6. Write a working headline: Use it to guide what you still need to learn.