Journalists must ask what is WORTHY of being printed. There are so many choices of WHO and WHAT and HOW to write a story or shoot a photo. Are we writing what people want to read? What they SHOULD read?

Develop a sense for what makes a story newsworthy.

This is called “a nose for news.” These themes are classically WORTHwhile and

Hard News Themes

CONFLICT	Fights. Struggles. Crimes. Aggression.	Years of Torture
PROGRESS	Change. Improvement.Justice. Victory.	Mothers kicking drugs
DISASTER	Fires. Deaths. Accidents. Dangers. Suffering.	Fatalities in teen crashes spike
CONSEQUENCE	Impact. Importance. Life-n-death. Essential problems.	Melting Ice in Greenland

Soft News Themes

EMOTION	Joy. Pain. Hope. Fear. Despair. Trust. There are so many.	Pretty, Big, and Dancing
NOVELTY	It’s unusual. Original. Surprising. STICK!	He’s the Voice of Movie Trailers!
RELATIONSHIP	Friendship. Love. Romance. Dating. Connections.	Those Nigerian female auto mechanics
ANIMALS	Mic drop.	The Real Air Bud