If something is newsworthy it means it is worth covering, generally something newsworthy would base itself around numerous factors. If the story has a big impact on someone and is shocking then it is regarded as newsworthy – a well-known phrase is “Good news is bad news”.
These are the things considered to create a newsworthy story.
Impact or Consequences an effective story is one that can have a real long-lasting effect on it's audience if the consequence is real then the bigger the story.
Conflict We are all naturally interest in 'conflict' as it can add drama to our lives. If a story ran smoothly without little conflict or background conflict then it would be considered dull (for example if development of a huge residential area was proposed in picturesque countryside and went ahead without problem that would not be newsworthy, however if a disagreement between local people and the developers took place it would be far more interesting.)
Loss of life or possession As horrible and as inconsiderate as it sounds we are all intrigued by the idea of loss and death. A saying in the industry is 'if it bleeds it leads'. An example of loss of possession can be a house fire. Here is an example in my local newspaper of a injury that relates to this;
Proximity (how close the story has taken place). Proximity is very important in making news more interesting. If someone was robbed in an area considered local to you. For example a house robbery locally is more likely to be the main news in a local paper where as its less important in a national one.
Prominance The idea of a famous or well known person being injured or involved in a crash its likely to make not only national but international headlines. However if the person involved is just an average person then its less likely it will make the local news let alone the national news.
