News values in news websites : an empirical study of the criteria of newsworthiness in Argentina and Brazil

Abstract

In the theoretical approach to newsmaking we have on the one hand the organisation of the work of the newsroom and on the other, professional culture. Together, these two components determine the nature of the news-product and the conditions in which it is put together. The criteria for selecting newsworthy facts, known as criteria of newsworthiness or news values, consist of a group of elements by which the information apparatus deals with the superabundance of information that, in all kinds of ways, pours into the journalistic environment every day. If they are analysed as an organisational whole, news values can be seen as a logical framework that explains aspects of the production situation in newsrooms. In this article we intend to demonstrate how criteria of newsworthiness work in two news sites: uol.com.br and clarin.com. Based on an empirical study of the electronic pages, we hope to find some common points which will illustrate the process of selecting news in the digital information environment.