Saturday, April 18, 2009

News And News Value In The Mainstream Journalism.

Today’s major newspapers available in the market, are presenting what their news stories to their favourite consumers in the same form and style and appearing as symmetrical significantly. It seems to be as all menus of different caterers, have been prepared from the same kitchen.So,naturally the taste and the flavour of the different news stories produced in the different brand names of big newspaper houses,comes to the audience or readers equally in the same get up nd style. The readers experience rarely the diversified tastes of news stories , although by turning the different pages of several newspapers. Perhaps, the readers think it “All have been looking eye to eye one another”.A got-up game like, isn’t it?The matter. of differentiation of so many news stories published in several newspapers, appear to be a puzzle cotest to the readers mostly.
Clearly, there is a hierarchy in the selection of news. Political news stories receive more prominent coverage than other say heroism. Disaster and crime stories receive special attention than any social or civic problems. The focus, it becomes clear, on events rather than issue and processes: on eminent or elite people rather than poor and marginalized: on exotic and novel rather than ordinary, the everyday and the usual. Evidently, certain ‘values’are at work in the way some happenings, some people, some nations, and some cities are considered newsworthy and others not so. Numerous happenings are not reported ;. a strict selection process shifts out what is not newsworthy, and chooses to publish what is. From whose perspective and in terms of which value- system is this selection being made?

It appears that journalists in all newspapers think alike and work according to the same set of values. It is studied also that the journalists hunt for packs; by and large they have the similar sense of what makes for news. They do not want to change their trend usually they feel comfortable as well as secured too. Neither these journalists extend their views from their whirlpool existence in different ways or angles nor they would have been allowed to move ahead innovatively by the newspaper organization. This approach of journalism can be designated as ‘pack journalism’. Further, how is that the journalists world over swear by that very ‘inverted pyramid structure’ when writing up the news? Such structure came into existence with the telegraph; the electronic media and the internet have a potential for experimenting with other format, but the journalist can not shed their old habits of thought and their old routines of working to deadlines. With round the clock news in news channels like CNN, BBC world and Star News and also in the internet, the traditional forms of journalism and the traditional routines of journalists have taken a thorough beating.

The front page of any newspaper is so important one, that it should carry most valuable and selective news of the day of which it belongs to. The firstpage must cater such choosy items of news which are special and ditinguised as compared other stored news in the newsgatherings. It carries the outlook as well as mission of the publishing organization which reflects the ‘news value’, and ultimately generates passion and appeal within the consumer readers. Here , a tasteful mind motivated by right attitude, is necessary to persue a very good presentable page No: 1 for any news daily. Proper selection apper to be a hard task as to pick up absolute pertinent ones from so many publishable events which can demand importance equally according to comparison.

To avoid the most challenging part of making a very good frontpage,newspaper organizations are adopting few tricky means or ways. Thus the newspaper manufacturers have virtually been able to intercept this growing challenge in making an appealing and attractive frontpage in sustainable manner. The news of sensitivity and of emotional nature, that can hit by virtue the sentiment of the people who have looked over the frontpage at least once for a moment. The consumer readers naturally,fall headlong over the newspaper as being inflenced and induced as well by scarring and splendid news presentation as provided in the frontpage, and remain stick to such ‘Induction’.

In the ethical perspective, the news on fatel accident, severe disaster or natural calamity which are intrinsically shocking and mournful, or anyatrocious murder or rape which belongs to inhuman part of our life, should never be published with greater exposure and in bold headline as accompanied by prominent photographs. In a word, it is inauthentic and provocative as well.Such carelessness is, stood as common practice of so many newspaper organizations as to sustain their commercial gain by extincting all morals and ethical values of journalism. In achieving just a commercial gain, newspapers of the present days,have been undergoing in the process of such culpable ‘ humiliation of ethical codes’now and then. The present newspapers are in a mess of deceiting the consumer readers.

Newspapers, by and large today, seriously engged in publishing political news profoundly keeping side all other needful matters of the society by paying no such considerable attention or priority at all.How do they dare it as being most prestigious and conscious institutions and have to go ahed with the society where they belong to.The indulgence of present media concerns with political affairs looks like that they are somehow obligated or accountable to the political personalities somehow. It seems to be that no other event of the socity, could be so value added and acceptable to the consumers or users.