Herald Journal Article
This article addressed how the Utah State University’s Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art found a new director. Katie Lee Koven was hired recently to replace Vicky Berry who left as the director back in 2013 after 13 years of working for the museum. There are many elements that make this particular article newsworthy. An analysis of this story will help decide what made it news and who made it news. The main aspect that makes this story news is the timing. The topic of the story is current in the fact that she just started work as a director. This change is happening now which makes it interesting. The story would lose the importance if reported two weeks after the fact. Another factor that makes the story newsworthy is proximity. The story is perfect for the area that the Logan Herald Journal reaches because the museum is a part of the local community. The museum is close to many of the readers of the paper which makes this story more significant. Many of the readers should be able to recognize the name of the museum and Utah State University. This article is shaped very well to make it an even better news story that would be significant to more readers. Many of the quotes come from a press release or are from director herself. Much of the story addresses who Katie Lee Koven is and how she plans to make the museum even better than it was before. This technique is a great way to add human interest to the paper. The readers can form an opinion based off of what she plans for the museum and learn more about her background. This will add more interest for readers because they can better relate to her and the cause that she is a part of. That seems like a great way to build up an image for an organization which is what I believe this article is trying to do. The last element I noticed about this story is that it stressed how more people should find it significant than just students. The paper mentioned how the museum always had great attendance by the university students over the years. The director, however, made her message very clear that her goals are to make it an educational place that she hopes draws more attendance from the community, kids, and anyone interested in learning. This was smart because now the museum can possibly reach out to more people and encourage interest to come and visit. Examples are given of how readers can get involved like workshops, musical performances and more along with a reminder of new exhibits opening and events in the near future. The article was written by Kevin Opsahl who is a staff writer for the Logan Herald Journal. His article was informative and a good update for the consumers of the paper. The information used seemed as if it was crafted to help promote the museum. Journalists aren’t allowed to be biased and should only report the truth. That being said, who helped to make this news? As mentioned above, the main source is from a press release with quotes from the director herself. The details were worked out ahead of time and constructed into a message that would be approved by the director. This article is a good example of what a person in public relations should be thinking about when they want to be reported on. They have to shape their message in a way that can be perceived as significant enough to make it as a story in a paper. All the details in this article dealt with key elements that a reporter would consider, for example, prominence, proximity, timing, and human interest. People are hired everyday into new positions but aren’t written about in the paper. Instead of just saying that they found a new director, they gave enough information to make it important enough to get the recognition that they wanted.