Above the fold: what's news and what's not? News has impact and timeliness, or tells about the lives of famous people. Writers and editors keep these qualities in mind when they create news stories. (Focus). Catherine Gourley.

"If a person eats a fish, that is not news; but if a fish eats a person, that is news. If a fish eats someone in your town, it will certainly be news in your town. If a fish eats a celebrity or world leader, it will be news worldwide."

So writes news expert William Jawitz in his book Understanding Mass Media. It's Jawitz's concise explanation of what is and what is not news.

The explanation is clever--but a little too simple. That's because not all news stories are equally important. Consider the way a newspaper is arranged. The stories that appear on page 1 have been judged by the editors to be more important than those on page 2 or 4 or 12. The stories that appear on the top half of page 1--above the fold--have been deemed most important of all. Because of the way newspapers fold, readers see those headlines first. Those stories tempt the reader to buy the paper, unfold it, and begin reading.

How do news editors decide which stories are news and which are not? How do they decide which stories are so newsworthy that they belong "above the fold"?

It boils down to just a few key factors....

News Has IMPACT.

BOY'S ARM REATTACHED AFTER SHARK ATTACK

PENSACOLA, Florida (CNN)--Doctors successfully reattached the right arm of an 8-year-old boy Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman said, a day after a shark attack was halted by the boy's uncle, who wrestled the shark to the shore to retrieve the arm.

The boy was listed in critical condition Saturday.

Impact can mean drama. Stories with impact provide a powerful jolt that grabs and holds readers' attention. A story with impact can also be one that affects many people. A boy attacked by a shark is not necessarily national news. Shark attacks have been happening since humans first entered the sharks' ocean world. That the child survived the attack is wonderful news, but even that does not give the story its impact. What makes this story unusually dramatic, and therefore pushes it "above the fold," is the fact that the boy's uncle recovered the severed arm from the shark's jaws. Also, the story is far-reaching, because many people swim in the ocean. Readers think, "This could have happened to me."

When writing about a high-impact story, the reporter puts the most dramatic elements in the first paragraph, also called the lead. In the paragraphs that follow, the reporter supplies specific details to explain and expand the lead. The CNN report on the boy in Florida provided additional details in subsequent paragraphs:

He was attacked by a bull shark Friday around 8 p.m. while swimming off the coast of the Florida Panhandle, according to Ranger John Bandursky of the Gulf Island National Seashore Park.

After the boy's uncle wrestled the shark onshore, Bandursky said, a park ranger then shot the shark three times in order to loosen its jaws and retrieve the boy's right arm, which was still inside the shark's mouth.

News Is TIMELY.

TRAPPED PENNSYLVANIA MINERS FOUND ALIVE

SOMERSET, Pennsylvania--Nine coal miners were found alive Saturday night after rescuers spent an agonizing three days drilling through 240 feet of earth to save them from a cramped and flooded mine shaft.

After 72 frustrating hours, Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker appeared before reporters and raised his fists over his head.

"All nine are alive," he said. "And we believe that all nine are in pretty good shape." He said rescuers planned to begin the process of lowering a capsule to raise the miners from the shaft after the drill was removed.

Oregon is thousands of miles from Pennsylvania. Even so, the news director of KATU-TV in Portland, Oregon, decided that the story of miners trapped in a Pennsylvania coal mine would greatly interest his readers. The story had impact. By day three, even the rescuers had begun to doubt that all nine men could survive that long in the near-freezing shaft without food.

The story had something more as well: timeliness. Timely means new or recent. News that is happening now or has happened within the last 24 hours is timely. News that occurred last month or even last week is not.

When KATU aired the story on July 27, 2002, the rescuers had not yet succeeded in bringing the men to the surface. No doubt, the news director anticipated that his readers would "tune in tomorrow" to find out how the drama unfolded. The next day, rescuers lifted one man at a time from the flooded shaft. For several days, the story was timely, and it was followed up by more stories--interviews with the rescued miners, features about celebrating townspeople, and so on. A week later, however, the story had lost its timeliness. It disappeared from national newspapers and news broadcasts.

News Is WHAT HAPPENS TO CELEBRITIES.

JUSTIN CRIES HIMSELF TO SLEEP OVER BRITNEY

NEW YORK (AP)--Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears said bye, bye, bye to each other after three years together, but it wasn't easy. Less than six months later, Timberlake says he still can't say the words "break up."

"It hurts too bad to say it," the 'N Sync member told People magazine for its June 24 issue, in which he's named among "America's Top 50 Bachelors."

"You get to a point where you're crying yourself to sleep at night," he said. "I feel like I'm in the middle of a soap opera. I honestly know what it's like to have a broken heart now."

Millions of people have ended relationships. Many have suffered "broken hearts" and even cried themselves to sleep after the break-up. Reporters don't interview them or publish their stories, however.

This story about Justin Timberlake's broken heart does not have impact. It is neither dramatic nor far-reaching. It doesn't really affect anyone except Justin, Britney, and perhaps some of their close friends. The story isn't timely, either. The break-up occurred six months before the article was published. So why would the Associated Press (AP) publish the story?

Justin's broken heart isn't "above the fold" news, but it's still news--and here's why. Although Britney and Justin are no longer a couple, they are still celebrities. Fans go to their concerts, buy their music, read about them. Says journalism professor Ronald D. Smith. "News interest is magnified when information deals with famous people." Ordinary facts about the rich, famous, or powerful are more interesting, says Smith.

News Can Be HARD or SOFT.

Forest fires raging out of control in the West is news--hard news. Fire safety tips for campers is news--soft news.

What's the difference?

Soft news is not particularly timely, doesn't have great impact, and isn't necessarily about famous or important people. Instead, it is about lifestyles and trends, health and family issues. Journalists often call soft news "news you can use."

In television news, hard news stories are announced within the first 30 seconds of a broadcast: EXPLOSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST; GROWING CONTROVERSY OVER LASER EYE SURGERY; WHALES STRANDED ON CAPE COD. Softer news stories air during the last few minutes of the program.

In recent years, news directors have used more soft news stories in their programs. Tom Brokaw, TV news anchor at NBC, explains how the blending of hard and soft news works:

"What we try to do is say we think these are the biggest stories and the most important stories in your life," says Brokaw. "And by the way, here are some stories ... that will affect your lives as well in a variety of ways. These are stories about finance, health, the changing shape of the American family. That is all now part of what is our news agenda."

Dan Rather anchors the news at CBS-TV. He believes soft news isn't news at all. He also believes the increasing coverage networks give soft news has turned off many viewers. But, he admits, he is in the minority.

The bottom line, says Professor Smith: "News is what an editor or news director says is news." Even they don't always agree on what is news and what is not.

As William Jawitz said, if a fish eats a person, that's news. If a person creates a healthy new fish stew, that may be news, too--soft news. Just don't look for it above the fold.

write now

* William Jawitz recommends this activity: Examine the stories in the first three pages of your local newspaper and write down which newsworthy qualities they contain. Writing! suggests you go further: Propose three news stories about your school or community. For each, identify the 5 W's of the story: Who? What? Where? When? and Why? (or How?). Then, write the story.