A dog biting a man isn't news, but a man biting a dog is — journalists weigh timeliness, impact, and unusualness to decide what's worth reporting. News judgment is that filter, plus checking it against real, named sources before printing.
Why this story, why now?
Journalists cannot report everything, so they judge stories against news values: timeliness, impact, proximity, prominence, conflict, and human interest. A city council vote that raises everyone's water bill scores high on impact and proximity; a celebrity's new haircut scores on prominence but little else.
Reporters do not simply assert; they attribute. Every claim traces to a source — a document, a named official, an eyewitness. Strong reporting confirms important facts with more than one independent source.
- Primary source: a direct witness or original document.
- Secondary source: someone reporting on the event after the fact.
- On the record vs. anonymous: named sources carry more weight and accountability.
- Here are four pitches: a local bridge closing next week; a distant lottery winner; your school changing its start time; a made-up rumor with no source.
- Score each against news values (timeliness, proximity, impact).
- Which pitch cannot run at all, and why? (Think about sourcing.)
- Order the remaining three by newsworthiness and defend your top pick.
What you should see: You applied news values and the sourcing test the way an editor decides what leads the paper.