How Does the Media Source News and How is it Selected? To What Extent is News Constructed?

Information used in politics is often collected from the "lobby system", where journalists are given unattributable information from the government, usually from people like the Prime Minister's Chief Press Secretary and other individuals in charge of giving press releases on behalf of the MP's.

News can also be obtained from individuals known as "mavericks", which sell stories to the news media that offers them the highest bid, especially scandalous ones. Usually people seeking fame or money go to a maverick with a story, then the maverick prepares it for publication and offers it to the news organisation willing to pay the highest amount of money for the exclusive.

As previously stated, there are many different resources from where news are collected and processed, and many sources often reflect the distribution of power in society, as larger and well organised publicity departments are more likely to be heard than smaller organisations with poor public relations. Nevertheless the best stories can sometimes come from maverick individuals or other smaller organisations that aim to change the status quo and cause stir amongst society. That is precisely why we must ask ourselves where the information has come from and whether it has been manipulated in favour of some specific organisation or to what extent it has been distorted to benefit anyone in particular. The news media must always beware of being hoaxed and offered false information, sometimes from people that have been unknowingly misinformed, others maliciously intentional or others simply seeking cash or publicity. Nonetheless, journalists may sometimes alter or slightly divert the meaning of a story if they find its content is too complex to absorb or not very appealing. "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story" is a common saying in news rooms.

A news organisation establishes its sources of information according to the topics and events it is most likely to cover, which leads the events reported often being interpreted by the source. The relationships built between journalists and its source it's reciprocal; the source provides the information and the journalist publishes it adding prestige and publicity to the source itself.

However, although most of the times stories are written uncritically and unintentionally, a journalist may subvert the source and express its personal opinion.

News have to be impartial and offer as many sides of a story as they possibly can rather than just quoting verbatim a determinate point of view. They don't want the public to think they are imposing any particular standpoint to them. Instead they provide different viewpoints and opinions, remaining always as neutral as possible.

Because of the limited times and space of new programmes and newspapers, the information has got to be carefully selected according to its significance and appeal. When there is too much information to choose from, editors have to priorise stories. So, what is and what isn't newsworthy? The notions of newsworthiness that journalists have are mostly gathered rather from experience and tradition rather than from any kind of formal training. Factors taken in account when editing news are things like the size of an event, whether it is geographically near to the country in which it is written and whether it affects the public living there. A running story, for example, is very good for selling, as it captures the reader's attention and keeps him buying the papers as he wants to know how the story will develop and end up. The covering of a story (like a court case for example, where there is tension on what will the final sentence be) for a few days, by adding details or looking from different angles, effectively engages the reader. Another technique used when presenting the stories in a newspaper is to show balance by choosing one story because it contrasts to others. If for instance there is a devastating story, like an earthquake or bomb killing several people, and we put next to it a happy, positive new it would create a perfect balance, helping to generate harmony and variety.

News are systematically and meticulously constructed. If the journalist wants to create a good image of a certain person, he/she will use praising words and a picture where such person is in good mood or state, whereas if the image of a negative person wants to be created, disapproval statements and criticising words will be employed, along with an off putting picture of the person. The same could relate to an event or political position or situation.

Rare events, for instance, are very likely to be easily sold, as people are often amazed by the most uncommon incidents and like to investigate on its possible causes.

There are principally four main characteristics that identify the western media. Those are the reference to elite nations; the larger and most powerful countries that tend to have influence on the rest of the world, the reference to elite persons; big personalities and famous celebrities, the reference to individuals that can easily relate to common people and are therefore easy to personalise, and bad news which use to cause havoc and disturbance in society as threatening facts that induce the readers to find out about in detail.

News are also constructed regarding their importance. The editor or gatekeeper will place the news in sequence according to their relevance and probability to attract the public. It is very important to create catchy and smart headlines that are easily understood rather than complex, sophisticated and long sentences that would only confuse the reader and lead them to not buy the newspaper or watch the news programme. Often the accompaniment of a good picture or image speaks more than words, becoming almost essential the presence of a good leading photo in the front page of a newspaper.

The rest of the news and in a newspaper are ordered and placed from most to less important, from bigger to smaller or from most interesting to tedious.

Summing up, we can come to the conclusion that when writing and editing news, there are a lot of important factors to bear in mind that are essential for the achieving of a successful publication The magnitude, significance and way of portraying a story or event, determinate whether the aims of triumphing among the exigent public and its demands have been fulfilled. The structure of news and its construction are primordial requirements that need to be carefully situated.

Susana Corona Cruz