Dictating the News: Understanding Newsworthiness from the Journalistic Perspective

• Main Authors: Lynn M. Zoch, Dustin W. Supa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Insitute for Public Relations 2014-04-01
• Series: Public Relations Journal
• Online Access: https://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2014ZochSupa.pdf

This study looks at previous research done in journalism and public relations to identify eight factors that determine newsworthiness. A survey was conducted first to confirm the importance of the eight factors among journalists and public relations practitioners. Then a content analysis of news releases from public and private corporations was used to determine if they contained the eight factors identified by the research. The study found that both journalists and public relations practitioners generally agree on the factors that contribute to the newsworthiness of public relations information subsidies; however, the analysis indicated that only two of the eight factors were being used regularly in the releases, and that the majority of the releases would not be considered newsworthy by either journalists or public relations practitioners.