This is not just a concept that’s important to journalists and marketing people. In today’s fast-paced, media-saturated world, if we don’t make this immediate lifestyle connection with our readers we will lose them – quickly!
People are interested in what’s newsworthy
When I teach journalism classes, I define “news” as:
“Information about recent events and happenings, especially those that are unusual or notable, which is of interest to the audience to which the information is directed.”
News is whatever piques the audience’s interest enough to get them to continue paying attention. Given that kind of broad definition, then, much of what we write could loosely be considered ‘newsworthy’ and deserving of public attention.
What people perceive as newsworthy
Research has consistently shown that from a structural standpoint, audiences are interested in information that has:
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Relevance (people can relate it to their lives)
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Impact (the information has consequence)
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Personalization (people can personally relate to the subject)
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Timeliness (it’s current)
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Proximity (it’s a local happening)
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Prominence (well-known people or places are involved)
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Conflict (reflecting aspects of contrast, disagreement, or uncertainty)
At the same time, people can best comprehend subjects that specifically address their self-interest. Simply put, I’m most likely to understand information that seems relevant to my immediate needs and wants. For most people, those immediate needs and wants involve:
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Money
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Health
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Relationships
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Recreation
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Religion
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Entertainment and Popular Culture
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Food
When I began my career as a newspaper reporter, the editors always encouraged me to make ‘connections’ between the subjects of my stories and the immediate needs and wants of my readers. So if I found myself covering an otherwise boring school board meeting (for example) I would try to find ways that I could relate the story of that meeting in terms of money (as in, taxes paid to fund the schools)… health (as in, perhaps, the financial health of the district or the community as a result of education)… relationships (as in, relationships of people on the school board to people in the community)… and so forth.
In the months since 9/11, researchers have noted a strengthening public perception of need for safety and security. In early February, 2003, the Public Relations Society of America noted strengthening consumer demands for:
If working as a reporter today, I would certainly try to build on these themes in every story – because I know these themes are of interest to vast numbers of people in my audience.
No matter what you’re writing about, in order to get maximum attention and interest from the audience you’re addressing – write in a way that builds in newsworthiness… and presents the information as consistent with one or more of the audience’s high-relevance issue categories.