Making the headlines

It isn't very often that the media lead with the same story everywhere in the worl

Such an event w

to be af enormous internatianal significa

is exactly what occurred in September 2001 with the terrorist attack on the Twin

Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. It is probably not exaggerated

say that from that moment the world was a different place

not just the historical and international c

nsion that rrad

(to

people can still remember exactly where they were and what they

hen they firs

it. They can remember their nwn read

the glo

And so it is with all major news stories. I remember when I was at

the te

Kennedy is dend. I didn't know who President

hearing the news that I went rushing home afterwards to tell my parents

already knew, of course). In fact, this is one of my earliest memories.

So what exactly is news? The objective importan

ugh-there are plenty of cnormous glol

hey don't all make the headlines on the same day. g:1L, in contrast was not

Interna

but

with the plight of people caught up in the drama) very human

Odd doesn't mean huge. Take the story in the China Daily aboul a mouse holding

up a flight from Vietnam to Japan. The mouse was spotted running cown the aisle

worried that the mouse could chew through wires an

time it took off, the plane was ma

an even

a few p

tre echoes of the story across the i

tland ("Mouse chase holds up flight", in the Edinlwrgi,

Another element of newsworthiness is im iacy. This refers to the neamess of

the event in time, An event which happened a week ago is not generally news

unless you've just read about it. "When"is one of the five"wh"questions trainee

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