Waugh seems to encapsulate the confronting dilemmas budding cadet journalists need to come to terms with in their first few years. However soul crushing it may be, the articles a young journalist writing for the 'Emerald Post', or the like, are not going to be riveting, life saving or even appreciated by the readers. Your average forty-something year old, alcoholic, all Aussie macho man tradie male is not going to be clutching his heart in emotional distress when you're article about teenage alcoholism is published on page fourteen.
Truth is, most people don't care about something that doesn't affect them personally or doesn't have much to do with current events. When the man of the house wakes up in the morning, clutching a cup of coffee in one hand and flicking through the newspaper in the other, he wants news. Simple, old-fashioned, straight up facts about what is happening in the world today. News headlines, weather, politics, tax. Interesting things to make him say WOWEE and possible a bit of a chuckle. So yes, I know you poured your heart, soul and a few tears in into your article on AIDS or racism, but trust me - i'm sure that section of the daily mail is either going to be 'saved for later' or recycled as 'old news' at the end of breakfast.
Don't get me wrong... I am all for those types of world-changing articles and in my opinion, are news worthy and should be highlighted for the public to read. But in terms of news values, of its value to readers on a population scale, they just don't fit in to mainstream news. Not headlines, anyway. Like they say, "If it bleeds, its leads": the horrific beheading, dismembering and peculiar freezer storage of local high school girl is automatically more shocking, interesting and valuable then the fact that 600 people were killed in a bomb blast in Iraq. If it bleeds - it leads. Whatever people tell you, they crave gore, scandal and gossip. Murder, child prostitution and political backstabbing will make the front page every time. This is what is valuable to people of your local or national Australian newspaper.
However, the Iraqi bombing will not go unnoticed, with local Middle Eastern newspapers and Al Jazeera scooping it up and making it the breaking news of the day. This is what is valuable to them - and this is the pinnacle of the whole lecture, from what I have gathered.
News values are not a universal truth we can all agree upon. What stories are revered or tragic in one country or community will be rather blasé in another. Honestly, in my opinion, I consider this a rather positive fact of life. It means journalism is a career for writers who are interested in all topics. There is an outlet out there for every issue out there and one day, hopefully you will find a career writing about the things that are most valuable and close to your heart for people who are interested in what you have to say.
Until then, though, i'm afraid us budding journos will be forced to write about the carbon tax, the brutal murder of local school principal, the ride of pedofiles, the amazing dog who can speak or god forbid, Lara Bingle's new (failing) reality television program.
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