COMM 370 California State University Communication & Seven News Values Paper

Description

“You are the editor of a local newspaper that serves a large city with many colleges, including prestigious Southland University, a private university known for its academic research, athletics success and selective 12% admission rate. You are evaluating placement of the following news article based on the seven news values described by Craft & Davis.

A reporter covered a press conference today at SU, where the university’s chancellor announced she had fired the athletics director, saying he was negligent for allowing coaches to secure SU admission for students whose parents donated money to the programs. The students ultimately did not participate in intercollegiate athletics at SU.

Among the students was the daughter of a popular Hollywood actor who starred in a comedy that was the No. 1-rated network prime time show for five years. The daughter, a popular social media influencer, graduated with a 2.5 GPA from her private high school. Her parents donated $100,000 to the university’s gymnastics program, but the student never participated in the sport. Her admission was part of a larger scandal involving athletics programs at several prestigious universities — a story that attracted public and news media attention for several months.

The athletics director followed up with his own press conference saying he planned to sue SU for breach of contract. An alumni group expressed support for the athletics director, saying he did not have direct knowledge of the donations.

A student group said the chancellor did not go far enough. Members said SU should increase scholarships for and admit more students from disadvantaged communities. Students in the group said they felt fortunate to be admitted to SU, but were stressed by the loans they needed to take to pay tuition.”