Lord Northcliffe Quote Analysis

The meaning of Lord Northcliffe’s (1865-1922) quote: “News is what people do not want you to print. All the rest is advertising,” varies depending on the individual’s interpretation of the word ‘advertising’. However, all discrepancies aside, this quote simply implies that all published items that should be considered news retain some form of ethical issue in the context. After critical investigation, however, this quote may be deemed false, as it does not account for all aspects of a story which are currently considered news worthy. The newsworthiness of particular stories varies throughout time as the interests of the consumer alter, however the chief news values have remained constant for generations (Harcup 2009). While a number of these

The first idea: “News is what people do not want you to print,” is stated simply, hence it is easily interpreted. However, the second idea: “All the rest is advertising,” is more difficult to grasp, as the term “advertising” can be interpreted to varying degrees. Simplistically, advertising is to “praise goods etc. in order to encourage people to buy or use them.” However, this definition is far too narrow in terms of its presence in news stories, indicating Northcliffe implied a vaster meaning. To advertise is to promote, and to promote is to “advance in rank, dignity, position, etc.,” (Knight 2002). These statements, combined, relate to people, products, businesses and services collectively, which apply to a broad spectrum of news stories within the media. While these stories may include recognised advertising, discussing the benefits of particular products or schemes, they may also include stories about political decisions which place particular politicians at a higher popularity ranking amongst society. For example, Kevin Rudd’s formal apology to the ‘stolen generations’ of Indigenous Australians was an extremely popular news topic throughout 2008, bringing a large influx of positive publicity to Rudd’s political campaign (Welch 2008). While these stories adhered to the form and function of a news story, their context involved the promotion of an individual and their actions, therefore, they may be classified as