News values are value-loaded systems presented as neutral technical protocols

Evidence

The media journalist, like his counterpart in the press, “knows a good news story when he smells one”: but few can define what criteria are integrated within this notion. “News values” are, however, a man-made, value-loaded system of relevancies. Such a system has great practical use, since it enables the editor to get his work done, under the condition of heavily pressured schedules, without reference back to first principles. But the idea that such sedimented social knowledge is neutral—a set of technical protocols only—is an illusion. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 872

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘news values’ as a man-made, value-loaded system of relevancies rather than a neutral technical standard.
• XREF: connects to: Platforms that claim neutrality actually set the market rules — Nick Srnicek, Platform Capitalism, 49; Treating facts as neutral blocks requires a theory to organize them — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 1100