With the advent of 24/7 news channels, social media, there is constant barrage of information. However, not everything is created equal. What is newsworthy and what is plain trash? Let’s try to dig deep and come up with some good answers.
News
At its basic level, news is just reporting of an actual event to general public[1]. Thus, there is no news per se, even if one of those ingredients – occurrence of event, reporting of event, observers – do not exist. If something gets reported without an actual event, then it is fiction. If everyone in the fight club follow its first rule[2], then again there is no news. “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” is a philosophical question which can be debated endlessly. But certainly, it doesn’t qualify as news.
Time
Some newspapers have a section called “25 years ago, on this day”. Other than trivia or nostalgia for some, do they serve any purpose? Since news is reported after the event has happened, news is almost always about the past[3]. The time interval between the event and its reporting is dependent on the medium. Till 30 years ago, people were satisfied with a day-old news. With social media and TV channels, things could be reported live as it is happening. An event that happened fifty years ago is more in the realm of history[4] than news. Are recent events more relevant?
Variability
Any change from status quo is usually news. Unusual downpour in Doha, couple of years ago, was news. Daily rains during monsoons in Mumbai is not news. However, no rains during monsoons is certainly news. Any change from status quo is usually news. Steeper the gradient, the ‘better’ the news. Situations where probability of an event and its eventual happening are at odds are highly conducive for news[5].
Spectrum
Let’s focus on event reporting. Level 0 is no reporting of events, so no news. There is a well-known term for reporting of an event with false information. Level 1 is just utter lies. There may be intricate details and content heavy but complete falsehood turns it into nothing more than fiction. Fake news elaborately made up falls in this category. Level 2 is hearsay, gossip or rumor. Bring together a group of people with even a modicum of interest about the topic and you have rumors. Enough curiosity to generate gossip but not enough to seek or verify facts is the right condition for level 2 news. Mild curiosity is what defines this level.
Next, is selective sharing of facts and/or extension of them a bit further than their limits to suits one’s needs. Level 3 can be called spin. It makes use of correct facts as starting platform and pushes its boundary just enough to not sound incorrect. Spin gains the trust of the audience with accurate facts but then takes them for granted by pushing the facts (or hiding parts of it) without any real backing. Sometimes when an authoritative figure lies outrightly, it is spinning since the trust placed by the people on him/her is misused. At outset, spin may seem clever or smart, but ultimately it erodes the bond between people. Hype is also another form of spin. All these levels share one common feature of plausibility.
Level 4 covers well-informed opinions. Highly informed opinions of relevant subject matter experts can pass off as news. These could be critical analyses of past events or immediate future predictions. The latter is on the speculative end since any kind of prediction is hard. Other issue with such opinions is two equally good experts on the same subject may have completely different point of views about a situation. With rigorous analyses, neither could be completely wrong. Highest level is news that consists of facts. Facts are information that has been independently verified to be true[6].
Clearly, news which are at higher levels are much more worthwhile than lower ones.
Relevance
Consider these probable news items – a) A cure for current raging pandemic has been developed by a group of scientists, b) The real reason behind Hitler’s death has been found out, c) An asteroid has a good chance of colliding with earth 100 years from now. Which would be considered newsworthy? I would bet the first news item. Why is that? Option (a) significantly alters the reality of a large number of people in the world NOW. Option (b) is just fodder for tea-time conversation. Option (c) would not matter to people now[7]. Thus, relevancy of news is directly related to impact of event on people’s working timeline. For most of them, that is now and immediate future. That is why recent events are disproportionately part of news since they affect now and immediate future the most. Number of people affected by news also plays a role, but smaller number doesn’t necessarily mean it is not worthy.
Unfurling
Reporting of events like sports, business is easier. It is mainly because score lines, revenue numbers are easily quantifiable with broad consensus on their definition and strict enforcement of rules. In fact, reporting just the bottom line is considered ‘dry’. In these cases, facts are indisputable and hence, already in known territory. It is the unknowns like the strategy behind the wins, inspiration behind the team’s bonding, tragic story behind the losses, etc. that needs to be ‘correctly’[8] uncovered to be newsworthy. Thus, making unknown to known is also news.
There are many areas, where things are not clearly demarcated as black and white. If two groups clash with each other, one could portray it as friendly banter, while other could say it was a heated argument. Which of these is true? Provided news is relevant [9], what is the correct way of reporting this incident? One way to look for consensus/common points within each group about the incident. Another way is to carry out neutral third [10] party checks. Being third party is not enough[11]. Neutrality is also important. How do you select for neutrality? Ideally, those for whom either parties are equally (un)important.
Misuse
When people refer to explosion in terms of news coverage, they are usually referring to social media or TV news channels. Mostly, they cater to masses, pander to majority beliefs even if incorrect. They are low on nuances, stick to lower end of news spectrum like lies, rumors, spin, hype, sensationalism. Immediacy is mistaken for relevance of news. Slightly better ones pass half-baked opinions as facts. Social media provides a voice for everyone’s opinions irrespective of their expertise on the topic. News is reporting of unusual and uncommon happenings. However, there is a tendency to assume it as the mean behavior of society, when usually it is an outlier[12].
Most misuse of news fall under the category of pandering to pathos and ignoring ethos and logos side of human beings. While it is easier to connect this way, it is also easier to hijack.
Conclusion
Ultimately, news is a measure of action and inaction. When well presented, it is our connection to social brain. For a news reporter, just reporting news which is unusual, uncommon is not enough. Relevant information combined with useful insights and expert opinions on matters unknown to general public may be a suitable path towards better news quality.
Notes
[1] People not associated with the said event.
[2] The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club
[3] News about the future are mostly related to schedule of a future event like next solar eclipse, quarterly earning call, football match schedule, etc.
[4] History is all the news that survives after it has passed through the sieve of tim
[5] Long tail events
[6] Even though physical laws are facts, they are not news. It is because they are the definition of status quo even if not formulated properly (like quantum mechanics) but at least experientially (like gravity)
[7] It may be relevant to some pro-active government organizations for long-term strategy
[8] Broad consensus + third neutral party verification
[9] Nobody cares if these clashes are between groups of youth in the neighborhood. If this was between two nations, it could be relevant to the whole world
[10] Belonging neither to generator of news nor receiver of news
[11] There are many examples of third party arbitrators who have a clear bias towards one of the clashing parties.
[12] Crime fits well into this category. The percentage of crime is very low in most of the world. Yet criminal news dominates the reporting.