Our discussion last night about the John Edwards tabloid article got me thinking about tabloids. Are tabloids newsworthy? I think the National Enquirer article about Edwards was newsworthy, if you consider that the National Enquirer is one of the most popular "magazines" being sold today. There must be an audience that reads the Enquirer religiously otherwise the Enquirer would go out of business.
I admit, I love to read Us Weekly. But my guess is that some people out there don't think that an article about Brad and Angelina's new baby is newsworthy.
Our Creative Editing book lists the criteria to determine if a story is newsworthy:
1. Timeliness (up-to-the-minute information)
2. Proximity (something that happens nearby physically or geographically)
3. Prominence (people who are well-known or hold positions of prominence)
4. Relevance (how many people are affected by this event or story?)
5. Unusualness (enough said)
6. Conflict (should involve more than two positions)
7. Human interest (stories that touch readers' lives..)
If we go by these criteria, we could say that tabloids are newsworthy. Especially the facets of prominence and unusualness. I mean, how many times in your life are you going to read a story about a man who gets prank called by aliens?
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