What is Newsworthy in Photojournalism?

Newsworthy is a common word used in the world of journalism. The term refers to the elements that make stories worth telling to the public audience. Newsworthy materials are determined through seven basic elements that are proximity, timeliness, impact or consequences, rarity, conflict, human interest and prominence (Evangelical Press Association, n.d). These elements were based on the answers to the basic formula for journalism writing, 5Ws + 1H.

But living in the era of convergence, the quality of the news no longer depends solely on one’s writing skills. The photographs that go together in the articles also play a significant role in disseminating the message to the public and this is where the role of a photojournalist comes in.

A photojournalist disseminates message through visual communication with photography. The process of conveying the message is done through photographs, using the photographs as part of the news content thus making it important that the photographs use to be newsworthy.

Drama, emotion, actions, artistic qualities, strange and prominence are some of the key elements in determining a newsworthy shot (Stovall, 2005). These elements play a major role in evoking emotions among the viewers that could later lead to social change in our society.

These are some of the examples that showcased newsworthy elements.

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An assignment on 2017 Westminster Dog Show by Alan Taylor/ The Atlantic

 Photo by Jewel Samad /AFP/Getty

Photo by Brendan McDermid/ Reuters

Emotions

An assignment on Philippine Drug War by Aurora Almendral

 Photo by Adam Dean/ National Geographic

Photo by Adam Dean/ National Geographic

Drama

An assignment on Worst Wildfires in Chile's History by Alan Taylor

 Photo by Martin Bernetti /AFP/ Getty

Photo by Juan Gonzalez/ Reuters

References

Evangelical Press Association. (n.d). Journalism 101: What Makes a story newsworthy?   Retrieved 24 February 2017 from https://www.evangelicalpress.com/jou101/

Stovall, J. G. (2005). Journalism: Who,what,when,where,why and how. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.