Among the major news event in the recent few days was the phone hacking scandal that was linked to the News of the World; a tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom (UK).
The Washington Post carried the news in its headlines as follows “News of the World to close amid phone–hacking scandal” (Fahri and Adam 1). They labeled the announcement by the top executives led by the proprietor of the News of the World, a surprise one. The news event can be explained as follows in relation to the elements of journalism.
Immediacy: the news event conforms to the element of immediacy; this is because the Washington Post carried out the news immediately the executives of the News of the World newspaper announced that they were going to close down business on 10/07/2011.
Relevance/ proximity: the news event that a respected tabloid in the United Kingdom was closing down business is by itself a relevant news item, but what makes it more than news is because it closes down business as a result of a phone hacking scandal that involved the authorities of Britain and that they have been making their news from phone hacking activities. The news is relevant also because carrying it on the Washington post can act as a warning for those journalists who engage in hacking to obtain news.
Prominence: the closing down of the News of the World newspaper cannot be prominent especially when it was considered a tabloid, what makes the news event prominent is the phone hacking scandal linked to it.
Oddity: the news event conforms to the element of oddity because of the phone hacking scandal which least was considered a factor that can lead to the closing down of a newspaper company.
Emotions: the news event can relate to this element because it can provoke the emotions of those who read and liked the newspaper.
Suspense: the new event also evokes suspense because it leaves the readers of the tabloid newspaper in a suspicious state since they will not know what next after the collapse of the News of the World newspaper.
Consequence: the news of closing down the News of the World newspaper will have a consequence on the perception of journalism and the treatment of tabloid news.
Works Cited
Fahri, Paul and Adam, Karla. News of the World to close amid phone-hacking scandal. Washington Post, 2011. Web.