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How do journalists decide what stories to write? There is a general criteria for newsworthiness that governs daily journalism. This doesn’t mean every story deserves to be published or aired. And many of us, including myself, will occasionally gripe over a particular story, sometimes with good reason.
Still, I think that passions or bias too often blind some to the legitimate merits of a story. A good example of this is the vexed response to Brooke Borel’s magazine-style profile of biotech scientist Kevin Folta. The science journalism community, and some scientists, lauded the piece, but some voiced their displeasure.
Two characteristics of newsworthiness are prominence of an individual and topicality. Kevin Folta meets both criteria: he is enveloped in a controversy involving his role in a highly charged public debate on GMOs. This opens his related activities to new journalistic scrutiny.
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Borel was reporting a new wrinkle to the story that was of human interest–another characteristic of news worthiness. The unusual podcast became a window to more closely examine the main figure at the center of a developing story.
Reporters follow the story where it leads them. In Folta’s case, it is his cluelessness. Not stupidity, but clueless in that he was evidently blind to how his actions could be perceived.
Read full, original post: The Story Behind the Story
