Millions of news articles are published every single day, and behind every single one lies a question.
Is this newsworthy?
Writers and editors are constantly making judgment calls about whether a story is deserving of their time, resources, and — if they work in print media — their available space. Taking on one story inherently means passing on another.
But this decision isn't made solely on gut feeling. There are guiding principles about what makes a story newsworthy.
They're called news values.
What are news values?
In journalism, news values are the characteristics that make a story more likely to be important to or valued by the public.
If your goal is to earn media with the reports, surveys, and studies you create as a marketer or PR professional, it's critical to consider news values. Otherwise, you risk making something publishers aren't interested in.
Even if you don't plan on pitching journalists, incorporating news values into your content can improve its quality.
And since we know that having your content distributed to high-authority news outlets improves your chances of being cited by LLMs, creating fresh, relevant content has never been more important.
Let's take a look at some of the most commonly used newsworthy elements, examine real Stacker partner stories that exemplify those elements, and explore how you can apply the principles to your own content strategy.
Timeliness
The news value of timeliness answers the question: Is this topic relevant now?
The most obvious example of timeliness is breaking news, or events that are either currently happening or have just happened.
Marketers rarely covering breaking news. Instead, marketing teams should consider what stories they can create to complement relevant, timely events.
Let's look at an example.
In this case, Toptal pulled data from several different sources to forecast changes in the job market. This story is timely because it focused specifically on Q2 2026, leveraging current and historical data to make informed predictions.
News sites can use stories like this to garner more traffic and engagement and encourage readers to check out other related pieces.
When trying to come up with timely pieces of content, ask yourself:
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What events happen every year that are at least somewhat relevant to your industry?
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What is currently trending, and how can you complement those topics?
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What is breaking news right now in your industry, and what part of the story isn't being told?
Proximity
All things being equal, people tend to care more about what's happening near them vs. what's happening farther away.
In the case of news, it's common for readers to care more about what's happening nearby because it can directly impact them.
So instead of talking generally or nationally about a topic, try to zoom in on particular areas or groups.
In this example, TurboTenant focused on seven US states where proposals to overhaul or eliminate property taxes are being considered.
People who live in the featured states — like Texas and Florida — will likely have a stronger reaction reading this story than if they'd just read about the growing backlash to property taxes more generally. The story's framing brings the trend closer to home.
When trying to come up with proximity-based pieces of content, ask yourself:
- Do you have access to data sets that include geographic information and lend themselves to being localized?
- If you know of a particular phenomenon happening nationally, do you know how it breaks down locally or demographically? Are there interesting and/or important differences by location or group?
- If you know of a phenomenon happening in a specific place, can you investigate whether it's happening elsewhere or on a national level?
Impact
Also sometimes called "significance," the news value of impact concerns how many people are affected by an event.
Of course, there are times when something happening to one person qualifies as news, like someone winning the Nobel Peace Prize. But impact is one way journalists measure whether a topic is worthy of investment.
For example, if one store raises its prices, that’s not newsworthy. But if a majority of stores raise their prices, that’s a different story.
In this example, the team at Grist reframed a third-party report so that it directly illustrated the threat of extreme weather to homeowners. The personal framing is likely to grab the attention of anyone who owns a home.
When trying to come up with impactful pieces of content, ask yourself:
- What is a challenge or trend happening in your greater industry (rather than specifically related to your brand)?
- What topics related to your industry can be put into the context of everyday life, like personal finance, work, etc.?
- What are large numbers of people searching for in Google? Using keyword research tools can help you get a sense of which questions are trending and would be worth your brand shedding light on.
Prominence
The news value of prominence concerns whether the subject of the story is well-known. A "normal" person getting their car stolen likely won’t make the news, but if a movie star's car is stolen, it probably will.
What happens to celebrities, politicians, and other popular figures tends to attract more interest than what happens to other individuals.
In this example, Comerica examined how Shohei Ohtani lost $17 million and what everyday people can learn from the incident. Ohtani is a major public figure, so the level of interest is naturally there.
Comerica was able to bring its subject-matter expertise in financial services to add a fresh angle to the news event.
When trying to come up with prominence-based pieces of content, ask yourself:
- How can you apply industry-related topics to famous figures?
- Who are the influencers in your space? Is there more context you can add about their contributions or their story? Are they willing to collaborate with you to create content?
- What is the political climate around your industry topic? Is there anything you can clarify for readers?
Oddity/Strangeness
Human beings tend to be fascinated by the unusual. The sun rising in the east isn't news. If tomorrow it rose in the west, you can bet that would garner some news coverage.
People want to know more about what defies normal. Whether it's reporting on something strange, or even providing an explanation for that strangeness, these stories tend to captivate.
In this example, Spot & Tango brought attention to an under-the-radar holiday. It then pulled in research to warn against celebrating the holiday by actually kissing your dog. This is a more offbeat story that both calls out a relatively unknown holiday and provides readers with educational content.
It's more challenging to build out an ideation session specifically around creating offbeat content, but it's good to ask yourself: What are the offbeat stories publications are running? These can be a good source of inspiration if you can apply a similar approach to your industry.
Conclusion
The goal is to come up with ideas that hit multiple news values at once. For example, if you think of a timely idea, ask yourself how you can localize it. If you come up with an impactful idea, ask yourself whether you can publish or promote it at times when it’s more relevant.
The more newsworthy your piece is, the better chance you have of earning media coverage and links. Use the above news values to help you ideate and assess whether a concept is worth pursuing, and you’ll be on track to creating a high-value piece of content that hits your top-of-the-funnel goals.
This article was originally published in 2023. It was updated to include more recent examples and analysis.
