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. | ![]() |
NOVELTY | It’s unusual. Original. Surprising. STICK! | ![]() |
RELATIONSHIP | Friendship. Love. Romance. Dating. Connections. | ![]() |
ANIMALS | Mic drop. | ![]() |
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