The 12 factors also known as Galtung and Ruge‟s news values list:
1- Frequency: An event that unfolds within a publication cycle of the news medium is more likely to be selected
than a one that takes place over a long period of time.
2- Threshold: Events have to pass a threshold before being recorded at all; the greater the intensity (the more
gruesome the murder or the more casualties in an accident), the greater the impact and the more likely it is to be selected.
3- Unambiguity: The more clearly an event can be understood and interpreted without multiple meanings, the more
likely it is to be selected.
4- Meaningfulness: The culturally familiar is more likely to be selected.
5- Consonance: The news selector may be able to predict (due to experience) events that will be newsworthy, thus
forming a “pre-image” of an event, which in turn increases its chances of becoming news.
6- Unexpectedness: Among events meaningful and/or consonant, the unexpected or rare event is more likely to be
selected.
7- Continuity: An event already in the news has a good chance of remaining in the news (even if its impact has been
reduced) because it has become familiar and easier to interpret.
8- Composition: An event may be included as news less because of its intrinsic news value than because it fits into
the overall composition or balance of a newspaper or news broadcast.
9- Reference to elite nations: The actions of elite nations are seen as more consequential than the actions of other
nations.
10- Reference to elite people: Again, the actions of elite people, likely to be famous, may be seen by news selectors
as having more consequence than others, and news audiences may identify with them.
11- Reference to persons: News that can be presented in terms of individual people rather than abstractions is likely
to be selected.
12- Reference to something negative: Bad events are generally unambiguous and newsworthy. (Galtung and Rouge
1965 cited in O‟Neill and Harcup , 2009, p.164-165)
What makes news, NEWS
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