Spatial Aspects of Newsworthiness

Abstract

A sample of US television network newscasts is used to examine the role of geographic factors in domestic news selection. Journalistic norms of objectivity, national coverage and national interest combine with geographic stereotypes and accessibility to create spatial patterns of news. Washington, D.C., news predominates, and is almost entirely composed of national government affairs. Use of government sources and events as credible, accessible information does not extend beyond the capital, however, either to regional Federal offices or to state capitals. Neither does the accessibility of the capital lead to selection of other, non-government news. National interest is also interpreted by journalists as the number of people affected by an event. This journalistic norm results in news coverage of larger, rather than smaller, cities. Only disaster news is unusual in its distribution across size of place. Geographic stereotypes and place accessibility to the network news system reinforce and are reinforced by the resulting news product.

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