Stay tuned for a few thin slices later, but meanwhile…

This is from last Friday’s news meeting at 4:30, about a conversation about an asteroid potentially hitting Mars. Here’s the item in the story budget:

MARS-ASTEROID—The chance of a football-field sized asteroid plowing into Mars next month has been increased to 4 percent, scientists said after analyzing archival data

If it was Earth?

“Because it’s Mars, we bury the story?” asked one editor. If it was Earth, said a copydesk wizard, we’d send Bruce Willis up in a space shuttle. (“Or Anderson Cooper,” said the features editor)

This might be a bit silly, but it explains how news decisions work and the model can be applied to other (local) news:

- impact, proximity and relevance to readers. Asteroid hitting Earth has more impact, is closer and more relevant than asteroid hitting Mars.
- the fact that it hasn’t hit Mars nor Earth yet. Timing is key.
- If it hits Earth, whether it kills someone famous or important.
- limited resources: limited number of reporters and editors and money. Trip to Mars may not be worth the cost, compared to coverage of Earth-related issues.
- availability of certain coverage elsewhere. Mars will have better news coverage of this event than Earth. Earth may want to take wire reports from Mars instead of doing its own reporting and editing.