Media Critic

Just recently, am article was posted about a stolen puppy from the Louisville Metro Animal Services being reunited with his brother that does not follow the 10 elements of journalism or the seven yardsticks. Although this story is very touching, and may be interesting for some to hear, it breaks some of the rules of the 10 elements of journalism and the seven yardsticks for what makes good journalism.

One important rule of the seven yardsticks that was broken was newsworthiness. This story was listed in the mainstream news section. This article was not newsworthy at all. In order for for something to be newsworthy it has to have a lasting effect on a wide range of people, not just one specific group of people. This article on the two puppies did not affect hardly anyone,except for a small group of people. It affected the puppies, the people who work in the shelter, the puppy thief, and the people who found the puppy. That is not even close to a wide range of people. Therefore, it is not newsworthy, and Wave 3 should not have taken the time to cover this story. Instead they should have covered a much more important story that was more meaningful to it's viewers.

               Another yardstick that this article broke was local relevance. Local relevance deals with how the article affects its audience. In this case, this article does not affect its audience at all. Although it is great and heartwarming that the puppies were reunited, this article is not relevant the the lives of its audience.

               Last, but certainly not least this article breaks the section of the 10 elements of journalism where it discusses making the important interesting. Instead of making the important interesting, this article did the polar opposite, and made the interesting important. This is what you are not supposed to do when writing an article for the news. This article was not important at all, but instead it was interesting. The Wave 3 Staff managed to make this story seem important, in order to receive more viewers. Overall this article was missing a lot of key points when it comes to following the 10 elements of journalism, and the seven yardsticks. This article really fell below the bar. It really needs some major improvement, and reminders of what is considered good journalism.

http://www.wave3.com/story/30048280/puppy-missing-from-lmas-facility