All News Is Not Created Equal

When a person bites off news, it means that someone somewhere wants him to stop doing it, so they tell him not to do it. But news isn’t always news; it can be advertising and publicity. A bushy hedge trimmer has been cutting hedge trimmings for a while, and when he sees a trimmer that he likes, he goes to get one for himself. When he gets a new one, he puts it in his office, turns on the sparkplug, starts the motor and cuts the news on live television.

That’s news to someone watching at home, who hears him cutting the news and thinks, “Wow, that’s interesting; I would like that from a marketing perspective.” The bushy hedge trimmer isn’t advertising anything, but he is telling someone that he wants to have a hedge trimmer that he’s cut. He’s telling that someone that he knows is unhappy about how hedges are being managed at his place, so he decided to get one for himself.

In a similar vein, someone who wants a new magazine, newspaper or web site might hear a radio advertisement about it and hear that someone else wants the same thing, so they go out and buy the same things they hear. That is news to the places that are selling the items. But again, it isn’t really newsworthy to the entities that are selling the media. It’s just more money in their pockets.

Advertising is news to the entities that are selling the news outlets. It gives them something to sell to people who want it. There is no way that they would try to pass this type of news to the public without knowing how much they are getting for it. And if they tried, they’d probably find themselves being sued, for violating the Fair Advertising Laws. So, they try to play it safe by calling it advertising news.

Of course, in order for this type of news to be considered newsworthy, it has to be interesting and informative for people to read. It shouldn’t just be puffery. If it is, then people will only consider it news if they find that it piques their interest and makes them want to read more. And that’s the only way that the news gets put on the air.

Of course, it’s not only newspapers and radio stations that want to sell news. Many magazines do this as well and so does anyone with a website. The more people that are interested in what you have to say, the better chance that your news will be heard and that you’ll get some money from selling it. So keep your news interesting and up-to-date so that people want to read it.