Watch this 9-11 Frontline video that links the newsworthy 9-11 event to the news events in the video.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/america-after-9-11/

STEP 2 - Select either the Gaitlung and Ruge OR the Shoemaker et all list of what defines news.

Gatlung and Ruge, 1973

• Relevance- How relevant is a news story to the audience in question? For example, a California earthquake is almost always more relevant to a West Coast audience than to an audience in Calcutta.
• Timeliness- How recently did the event unfold? Timing is of the utmost importance in today's 24-hour news cycle. Recent events, or events in the making, are most likely to lead the news.
• Simplification- Stories that can be easily simplified or summarized are likely to be featured more prominently than stories that are convoluted or difficult to understand.
• Predictability- Certain events, such as elections, major sporting events, astrological events, and legal decisions, happen on a predictable schedule. As the event draws closer, it typically gains news value.
• Unexpectedness- On the other hand, events like natural disasters, accidents, or crimes are completely unpredictable. These events are also likely to have significant news value.
• Continuity- Some events, such as war, elections, protests, and strikes, require continuing coverage. These events are likely to remain in the news for a long time, although not always as the lead story.
• Composition- Editors have to keep in mind the big picturethe sum of all content in their media outlet. For this reason, an editor might select soft human interest stories to balance out other hard-hitting, investigative journalism.
• Elite People- Certain individuals, like politicians, entertainers, and athletes, are considered, by virtue of their status, more newsworthy. If someone throws a shoe at an everyday person, it's probably not news. If someone throws a shoe at the President of the United States, it will likely be in the news for weeks.
• Elite Countries- Famine, drought, and national disasters are more likely to draw attention if they are happening in wealthy, developed countries than if they are happening in developing countries.
• Negativity- Generally speaking, editors deem bad news more newsworthy than good news.

Shoemaker et al., 1987

• Timeliness- Shoemaker et al. also recognize timeliness as a critical news value.
• Proximity- Similar to Gatlung and Ruge's "Relevance." The closer an event takes place to the intended audience, the more important it is. This is why huge local or regional stories might not make the national news.
• Importance, impact, or consequence- How many people will the event impact? Issues like climate change have become big news in recent years precisely because environmental changes affect the entire planet.
• Interest- Does the story have any special human interest? For example, the inspirational story of a person overcoming large odds to reach her goal appeals to a fundamental human interest.
• Conflict or Controversy- Similar to Gatlung and Ruge's "Negativity." Editors generally deem conflict more newsworthy than peace.
• Sensationalism- Sensational stories tend to make the front pages more than the everyday.
• Prominence- Similar to Gatlung and Ruge's "Elite People." The actions of prominent people are much more likely to make the news than non-public figures.
• Novelty, oddity, or the unusual- Strange stories are likely to find their way into the news. Dog bites manno story. Man bites dogstory.

STEP 3 - Apply the list to a news story in the video. Briefly describe how each of the elements in the list you selected describes the news event you watched.

STEP 4 - Make sure that you put your teacher hat on and clearly explain how each element indeed describes the news story you watched. Your description for each of the news elements must be described with a video example in rich detail. General descriptions that are not specifically drawn from the video will be marked as wrong.