JOUR 61: Top News Story 2

My top news story for this week comes from the New York Times Online entitled, “Tentative Deal Is Reached in Writers’ Strike”. The story explains how a resolution to the writers’ strike in Hollywood looks to be on the horizon. The strike between the Writers Guild of America and the production companies, which has been active since Nov. 5th, has severely disrupted television programs and the production of movies. This story will be of great interest and I’m sure of great relief to many readers who rely heavily on television and the movies for their entertainment.
The article’s importance is demonstrated by the news values it possesses. As mentioned, the story has a large impact due to the large number of people who watch television and feature films. The story also scores highly due to its immediacy. It is one of the advantages of the Internet over hard print newspapers that people logging onto the New York Times website can get this story as it is breaking. The report is very prminent in the public eye currently as it links many of the most famous people in the world, actors and actresses, whose work is affected by the strike. Furthermore, their participation in the OSCAR’s ceremony, one of the biggest television events of the year is also in jeopardized by the strike. This article has a lot of currency, as the writers’ strike has been in the public eye for a long time due to its visible affects on the nation’s television screens every night. The story also includes an element of conflict with people eager to discover who will back-down first in this bitter dispute between writers’ and production companies.
Although this story may not be as “important” as what is happening in the U.S. Presidential race, or what is happening in Iraq, the story is still featured prominently by editors because of the news values that it possesses.