Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter Two News Values and Story Ideas 37 weeks, however, the same earthquake story may be stale (out of date) unless you fi nd a timely angle. If the gym lights fell in the earthquake and the gyms are closed until the school board votes next week on funding to retrofi t all the lights, the earthquake story is still timely. Reporting and writing quickly will allow you to keep your publication or broadcast strong. The afternoon La Nueva Voz, a monthly newspaper, was being put to bed (being sent to the printer), a naval helicopter experienced technical diffi culties and landed on the school’s football fi eld. Because the paper came out the next day, the picture and explanation were a lead story (the more dominant story) on the front page. If the paper had been published two days later, the story would have become stale and been pushed to an inside page, if it was published at all. Impact “So what?” If you can answer that question, you have defi ned the impact of your story. How does the story affect the lives of your audience? The strength of the story’s effect or impression on your audience determines its impact. Almost everyone will want to know if spring break is being eliminated because of extra snow days or if graduation and the end of the school year are being postponed because of fl ooding. These stories impact everyone in your school, and so they have news value, even if the snow has long melted and the water has receded before you publish. How many students does the theme of the senior prom affect? Think about it: your audience may include seniors who have been planning their prom night for months and will spend hundreds of dollars on the evening, as well as freshmen and sophomores who are looking forward to their own senior prom. Your audience will also include many students from all four classes who simply do not care about the prom. You must know your audience to decide whether prom is your lead story. In the same issue, you may also cover the closure of a nearby skate park and a summer job fair. Which story will impact more of your audience? The story with the most impact should be your lead story. Journalists recognize the impact of a story on their audience and report it in such a way that the audience understands the impact. Few students follow what goes on at your state capital but when actions at the capital affect your community, it is a journalist’s job not only to bring the news to the audience but also to help the audience understand the story’s impact on their lives. The state budget may force your district to Figure 2.3 Online publications, such as the one above, are often more able than print publications to publish timely stories. The news cycle is usually shorter for the online publications. What are the news cycles for the various publications and broadcasts at your school? thePalyVoiceHome News Sports Opinion Multimedia Features A & E School Links Archives LATEST We’re on Facebook, fb.me/thepalyvoice, and Twitter, @thepalyvoic Magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Bay Area Magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Bay Area by THE PALY VOICE Published October 30, 2007 Tweet A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck the Bay Area today at 8:04 p.m. tonight. The earthquakes epicenter was about fi ves miles north of San Jose’s Alum Rock according to US Geological Survey Earthquakes Hazards Program. So far, three aftershocks have occurred between 8:12 and 8:13, going from magnitudes 1.4 at 8:12:23, 1.3 at 8:12:48, and 1.5 at 8:12:55. The earthquake has been felt from as far away as the Santa Cruz Mountains to Stockton. Tremors from this earthquake were felt in Palo Alto, bringing with it a warning of the need to be prepared for such events. Many Paly students felt the tremor. Tamar Ben-Shachar, a junior at Palo Alto High School was one such student. “It caught me by surprise. I was doing my homework, and I so I ran to the doorframe. little siblings screamed because they had never felt an earthquake before,” Ben-Shachar said.My According to Barbara Cimino, manager of the Offi ce of Emergency Services for Palo Alto, there are currently no reports of damages or injuries, and they are advising people to contact 911 only if there are problems. Sophomore Abby LaPier was at Policy Debate in Room 220 at Paly when the earthquake occurred. Courtesy of The Paly Voice, Palo Alto High School