What makes a photo newsworthy?
As photojournalists, we are (and our editors) are constantly making decisions on what is newsworthy. We can’t cover everything all of the time so we have to pick and choose.
In journalism school, students learn about the five criteria for newsworthiness:
- Timing - Is it recent / news?
- Proximity - Did it happen nearby?
- Impact - How many people does it affect?
- Prominence - Is it related to an important figure?
- Unique - Have you seen anything like it?
While you’re in class, this is just another list to remember. When you get out into the real world, knowing these five help you react to news.
About a week ago I received a call from an editor. He heard a report on the police scanner that a vehicle had left the roadway and wanted me to go check it out.
I drove by the scene a few times and saw nothing. I couldn’t find the involved vehicle. That’s when I parked on the side of the road and walked around for a closer look.
I found it.
Tony Scalise (left) talks to his boss Mark Grieshaber at the scene where Sealise drove a company truck off the roadway on New Halls Ferry Road late Monday afternoon and landed in a creek. Scalise was not injured.
As a St. Louis County police officer later said, “it was a golf shot.” On either side of this creek bed was a field. The driver somehow hit the 20ft drop-off instead.
After taking a few images, I started talking to the guys that were standing around. I figured they knew some details. One of them knew all of the details because he was the driver. He made it out without a scrape.
At that moment, I knew this probably wouldn’t warrant publication. We don’t cover many car accidents. The only luck this image had was to run as a standalone picture of a unique circumstance.
I stayed and kept shooting as the tow truck operators lifted the pick-up out of the creek bed thinking that it might yield a better image.
Greg Bolin, owner of Bolin Services towing company, watches the truck as it is lifted out of a creek Jan. 5 along New Halls Ferry Road. The truck left the road around 4 p.m. The driver, Tony Scalise, was not injured.
In the end, none of my images from this crash ran. It didn’t meet enough of the criteria to be considered newsworthy.
Out of the five categories, it matched timing, proximity and it was arguably unique. However, majority doesn’t always win when it comes to judging newsworthiness. It is all situational.
Learn more about the history of PICTURES
It’s too bad none of your photos ran, Max. From a towing perspective, they’re interesting
-Cyndi
It certainly is Cyndi. I thought the very same thing. It isn’t often that you see a a tow truck dead lift a pick-up straight up out of a creek while avoiding the shallow overhead power lines.
However, in terms of newsworthiness, it makes perfect sense that it didn’t run. It affected one person (directly) and it didn’t affect them very much (no injuries). That being said, if the person that drove off the roadway was the Mayor, it might have warranted publication. There is a public interest to know what is going on with our public figures.