What is News?

What is news, and how is information different from news? These two questions were implied in a recent interview on ABCs' Four Corners program when New York Times Bureau chief Dean Baquet suggested that Wikileaks was a provider of information, not news. However what Mr Baquet may or may not of realised is there are ethical issues such a distinction between news and information might raise? For example what about the role of journalists in providing sound information and the publics right to know this information, or conversely the importance of keeping certain facts hidden to protect a countries national security?

However it is not the intention of this analytical essay to provide the answers to any ethical dilemmas that arise from the above statement, but rather to analyse any issues that may occur by arguing that news and information are different. This will be achieved by attempting to answer the two overriding questions that develop from analysing the above statement made by Mr Baquet. They are: 1. How do you differentiate between news and information, and 2. what ethical considerations might develop in doing so?

Subsequently to accomplish this the essay will be divided into four parts. First it will analyse news and information separately by attempting to define them. This will be achieved by analysing news in more depth with the help of some scholarly interpretations. Secondly it will then attempt to define information by also looking at some scholarly definitions in detail. Thirdly it will look at what truly differentiates news from information by discussing Mastertons' key news values. Finally it will consider the ethical issues that arise when analysing news and information by using the MEAA code of ethics as a reference. Furthermore, these four points will be backed by scholarly evidence, quotes, and statistics which will help to give evidentiary support to this essay’s argument.

Firstly, news by definition is difficult to specify. The original meaning of 'newes' was first referenced in 1551 when it  meant 'novelties'. A more recent attempt at defining news was made by Philip Graham a former publisher of the Washington Post who said, “News is the first rough draft of history” (Lamble 2011, p.34). Another good definition of news was made by John Bogart, city editor of The New York Sun. He said “When a dog bites a man, that is not news because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, it's news” (Lamble 2011 p.35). Perhaps one of the best definitions has come from US journalism educator Melvin Mencher who said there are two general guidelines. They are: 1. news is information about a break from the normal flow of events, and 2. news is information people need to make sound decisions about their lives (Lamble 2011 p.35).  Therefore according to these definitions news could be summarised as a type of story about anything new or out of the ordinary that helps people to make informed decisions on their lives.

Secondly, information is also a word that is difficult to define. Just like news its meaning is very broad. However this has not stopped academics from attempting to define it. According to  Webster's dictionary information is: “The communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence”. Another common definition of information is: “One or more statements or facts that are received by a human and that have some form of worth to the recipient” (Losee 1997, p.255). Another more detailed and complex definition of information that was provided by the journal of the American society for information science states that “information is produced by all processes, and it is the values of characteristics in the processes output that are information” (Losee 1997, p.256) Therefore from these definitions of information it could be surmised that information is a type of factual commodity that can be bought, sold, given away, learned or taught by an individual or group of individuals, but generally only has value to those whom it was intended for.

Consequently while both definitions provided above help us to create a better understanding of what news and information are individually, they do not provide a definitive explanation as to what exactly separates the two from each other. One academic who attempted to differentiate between the two was J. Lule. He made an excellent observation when he stated, “News is not presented in the form of news as information, but rather as a story, a story with characters, a plot, and a theme” (Lule 2001 p.12). However it was  New Zealand journalist and journalist academic Murray Masterton who made a defining observation after surveying thousands of journalists in 67 countries around the globe. He came to the conclusion that there were three essential elements that differentiated news from information. They are: interest, timeliness and clarity. He said that news items must interest many people, they must contain new information, and that it must be presented in a easily understood form (Lamble 2011 p.37).

However Masterton did not stop at interest, timeliness, and clarity. He further went on to define six more news values that today’s journalists still use to help them decide if a story is news worthy or not. They are: significance, proximity, conflict, human interest, novelty, and prominence. It must be noted that the following six news value definitions have been condensed significantly as many paragraphs could be written on each one. However for the purpose of this essay it is only necessary to touch on them briefly. Consequently significance relates to the number of people who could be affected by the news story. Proximity relates to events that happen close to people geographically, as well as events that affect us historically, socially, and emotionally. Conflict can be anything related to political debates, wars, neighbourhood disputes, sporting issues, and court reports to name a few. Human Interest is basically anything of interest that other people may be doing, whether it be what our neighbours are up to or just the latest gossip on movie stars. Novelty is anything odd or bizarre that captures our attention, or something rare and unusual that stands out. Finally prominence relates to anything famous, well known, powerful or important people may say or do (Lamble 2011 p.37-41). Subsequently by creating these nine news values Masterton has helped to substantiate the argument that news and information are truly different commodities.

Fourthly and finally lets look at what ethical issues arise from making a distinction between news and information?  Clause number one in the Media Alliance (MEAA) code of ethics states that “journalists must report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness, and disclosure of all essential facts”. So is Wikileaks being ethical by releasing controversial information online, or is it simply striving to disclose all essential facts to the public so they can make informed decisions on their lives?  It is plausible to suggest that when Mr Baquet suggested that Wikileaks was a provider of information not news he may have meant that Wikileaks is not a true news organisation. However if this is the case does that make Wikileaks exempt from sticking to a journalistic code of conduct? Should it be allowed to obtain information illegally and submit it online for the world to see simply because it is a provider of information, not news? And even if it could get past this dilemma does this still make it ethically correct for Wikileaks to be releasing information that could potentially harm a countries national security? Conversely what about the publics right to know? Should that not be taken into account as well?  Nonetheless regardless of what the critics and experts say these questions and many more are all questions that have yet to be properly answered and will be an ongoing problem for a long time into the foreseeable future.

In conclusion it has been well documented and proven in the body of this essay that news and information are both different commodities. News has been defined as a type of story about anything new or out of the ordinary that helps people to make informed decisions on their lives. It has three key values that differentiate it from information – interest, timeliness, and clarity. It also has another six news values that further separate it from information - significance, proximity, conflict, human interest, novelty, and prominence. Information has also been defined.  It is one or more statements or facts that are received by a human and that have some form of worth to the recipient.  It is also considered the communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence.

In conclusion this essay has proven in its argument that there are differences between news and information, and that these differences create ethical issues that have yet to be fully solved. It has  shown that Wikileaks is a provider of information, not news, and considered whether this would make it exempt from certain ethical issues. It has also analysed the implications of broadcasting controversial information, and whether or not a countries national security should be more important than the publics right to know. Lastly readers should consider the fact that there is a long way to go before any of these ethical issues will be solved to a satisfactory standard. 

By Reuben Franklin

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