Articles from the New York Times. Why they are Newsworthy?

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Why they are Newsworthy
While writing a news article, one has to make sure their article is newsworthy. It is thus crucial that one is aware of the factors that make an article newsworthy. These factors include timeliness, proximity, conflict and controversy, human interest, and relevance. Timeliness simply means that an article needs to be current or needs to cover events that are presently happening. Proximity is how close an event is to the targeted audience. People care more about something that is happening closer to them than that which is happening far away. Conflict and controversy help to outline humanity’s quality of being intrigued by events or things that spur conflict. Human interest, on the other hand, includes stories that showcase experiences of people who have either accomplished something or are complaining about something. People want to identify with other people, and this is the quality that makes them identify with some news articles. Lastly, relevance is the quality of an article that makes it appealing to people depending on what they do or what their interests are. For example, if someone likes to run marathons, an article about Eliud Kipchoge’s record-breaking feat will attract their attention. The two articles to be analyzed in this paper have met these factors in different ways. The articles are not only relevant to their target audience, but also seem to have met the qualities of timeliness, proximity, human interest, and conflict.
The first article titled Despair for many and Silver Linings for Some in California Wildfires is written by Fuller, Terkewitz, and Del Real. The New York Times article dated October 29, 2019, outlines the sad state of the survivors of the California wildfires. The California wildfires have been in the news for a long time now, and its effects have indeed been felt. The article does meet the timeliness factor because it highlights the plight of the victims of a current event. The story is also relevant to its target audience and beyond because it also includes bits of inequality that eventually determine the future of the victims of the fires. After the fires, the article shows how those with insurance often end up having their dream houses built while the poor end up with nothing. This fact also helps the article meet the human interest factor because they are stories many can identify with. In any society in the world, after a crisis, the rich always seem to end up in a much better place than the poor. The statement above is a sad and unfortunate reality in all ...