Obviously, what you like to eat cannot be the most important factor. You have to consider the guests first. To do this, you must know a lot about their backgrounds. It makes a big difference, for example, if a family is Thai or Thai-Chinese. Religion can be very important, too, in what a person can or cannot eat.

At the Bangkok Post, our editors perform a similar function every day in choosing what stories to publish. They need to know a lot about their readers and what these readers need or want to know.

This week, we are going to look at how the stories are chosen for the main news section. Basically, each story is analysed for its "news value" to the newspaper’s readership. This is normally not a conscious process. News editors just seem to "know" from long experience which stories are newsworthy.

In analysing their choices day after day, it is clear the news editors follow certain general principles in deciding among the hundreds of news stories which arrive at our offices each day. I have included the most important of these principles in the box on this page. Read through the principles very carefully because you will use them in the activities which follow.

New values Immediacy Events that are happening today or that happened yesterday are more interesting to readers than events of the days before. News loses its freshness very quickly. Nearness Readers are generally more interested in something that has happened close to home (in their own city, country or region) rather than far away. But stories from faraway places can be interesting too, particularly if there is a local connection — a Thai student receiving an award in a foreign country, for example. Impact Readers are interested in things that affect them. That is why the Bangkok Post carries stories on air pollution or the start of construction that may cause traffic jams. Conflict Readers are interested in stories dealing with conflict, such as stories about protests, elections, war, sports, family disputes, or crime. Prominence (fame and power) Readers are naturally interested in the activities of famous people or events involving powerful countries or organisations. Intensity In general, big events receive more coverage than small events. For example an accident which kills 50 people is more likely to be covered than one which kills only two – unless, of course, the two are famous. Strangeness Very unusual or funny stories also make news. Suspense News events or situations that are not yet finished – like a murder trial or the choosing of a new Thai prime minister — can cause great reader interest. Emotion Events that cause readers to feel sympathy, anger, sadness or happiness are often considered to be newsworthy. Progress Stories of great achievements – like a powerful new medicine, a successful mission to the planet Mars or a new method of controlling flooding in Bangkok – are very likely to receive coverage in the Bangkok Post. Gender Stories about the changing roles of males and females – single parents, women fighting in wars, fathers caring for children while their wives work – also receive newspaper coverage.

Below are excerpts from a number of stories which recently appeared in the Bangkok Post. Read through each story and decide why it was chosen. Obviously, the news value "immediacy" was important for all the stories, so disregard that. Decide what other news values were the deciding factor.

For some of the stories, several news values are involved. Decide what they are and then decide which one was most important in getting the story published.

Two-headed calf Tirana – A destitute Albanian widow with four children to feed was dejected when the family’s only cow gave birth to a two-headed calf. But the hapless creature, born with two brains and two mouths, brought them great fortune when a US veterinary association bought the newborn for $25,000, the Gazeta Shiptare newspaper said yesterday. The undisclosed US group also offered the widow money for the calf's mother, but she refused to sell it. "Maybe it gives birth to another calf like this," said the woman from the village of Rumbullak, 70km south of Tirana. – Reuters Thaksin's plane explodes Post Reporters Authorities strongly suspect sabotage caused the explosion which destroyed a Thai Airways International plane only minutes before Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was to board it yesterday. The Airports Authority of Thailand board concluded after a meeting that it may have been a bomb, given information it had so far, a source said. And if it was a bombing, the most likely target was the prime minister. A high-ranking aviation source said the ensuing blaze was also too hot and fierce to be a normal onboard fire. It had gutted the plane, which broke in half in just 40 minutes. This ruled out an accidental fire. The prime minister, his son Panthongthae, and other relatives, were among the 149 passengers who were due to board the Boeing 737-400 jet, which blew up on the boarding apron at Don Muang Airport about 2.40 pm. GMO food giants unmasked Greenpeace: Thai consumers being made guinea pigs Ploenpote Atthakor Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in seven food products, including baby food, on local market shelves, Greenpeace said yesterday. The seven products are Nestle (AAC) baby food (Baby Cerelac); Unilever’s Knorr instant cream of corn soup; Nissin Cup Noodle (duck flavour); Vita-Tofu soybean curd; Good Time instant cereal beverage; Lay’s stax and Pringles potato crisps. Except for Lay's stax and Pringles, which are imported from the US, the remaining items are produced locally. The seven products were among 30 food items sent to a Hong Kong-based laboratory for genetic testing in February this year, "It is shocking to know that these genetically engineered items are already ending up in our food without the public's knowledge or consent," Greenpeace said. "Scientists still do not know the long-term effects of releasing GMOs into our environment and people’s diet." Women to petition for equal chances Gender imbalance in TAOs criticised Voranun Leelaluckana To ensure gender balance in political representation, women’s groups will today petition Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon to add a quota system in the amendment draft of the Tambon Administration Organisation bill. They want the law to specify a 1:1 male/female ratio in TAO composition to adjust severe gender imbalance in local politics. "Two elected representatives from each village on the TAO council must be one man and one woman," said Dr Sutheera Thomson Wijitranont, president of Gender and Development Research Institute. Veerapol knocks out Barajas to keep title Paris, Agencies Thai pugilist Veerapol Shaprom retained his World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight title on Monday, knocking out Ricardo Barajas of Mexico in the third round of their bout. The 32-year-old former ace Thai boxer, who raised his record to 32 wins and just one defeat, connected with his 22-year-old challenger’s jaw with a pile-driver of a right and left Barajas lying on the canvas where he received medical attention for six minutes. Veerapol, who was cheered on by a small but vocal contingent of Thais including a traditional Thai band, said he would like to fight France’s Olympic champion Brahim Asloum next. Mae Sai evacuated as shells hit town Thai artillery retaliated against Burmese army gun emplacements across the border after mortar shells and stray bullets rained on Mae Sai town yesterday, killing two people and wounding 15 others. The Burmese shells hit a military unit, a shophouse, a satellite dish on a residence, a tourist's car and a temple in the market area as fighting between Burmese troops and Shan State Army rebels again spilled over into Thailand. Seven Thai soldiers and eight civilians were confirmed wounded. Thai troops were ordered to retaliate. "We will use force even if it means there will be a loss of lives," said Third Army commander Lt-Gen Wattanachai Chaimuanwong. There was panic in the town and the evacuation of civilians was promptly ordered. Cars owned by a Thai and Israeli embassy firebombed Athens, Greece, AP Firebombs damaged two cars belonging to the Israeli embassy and a local staff member of the Thai embassy yesterday, police said. No injuries were reported. Pradap Pibulsonggram, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said no official embassy car was involved. He expressed confidence that Thailand had not been targeted. Man United hit Arsenal for six Manchester, AFP Dwight Yorke’s hat trick was the highlight of a stunning display that saw leaders Manchester United beat second-placed Arsenal 6-1 in the English Premiership yesterday. After an extraordinary first half at Old Trafford, United were 5-1 up and this crushing win leaves them 16 points clear of Arsenal with just 10 games left. Parents, teachers keep vigil in nightspots More than 200 teachers and parents will keep an eye on youngsters at city nightspots on Valentine’s Day. The aim of the mission at Royal City Avenue, Phetchaburi road, Khao Sarn road and Kok Wua intersection is to gather more information on youth behaviour, said Kasama Varavarn, head of the General Education Department. Victims of chemical blast fighting for redress 10 years on Anjira Assavanonda Many people may have forgotten the Klong Toey chemical fire which claimed three lives and injured many others 10 years ago. But for the unfortunate victims, grief and suffering keeps the incident fresh in their memory. Lawsuits filed by three victims against the Port Authority of Thailand are still pending in court after the explosion on the morning of March 2, 1991. The victims are Usa Rojanapongkasem, who has a brain tumour, her mother Bang-oen, and Somchai Charoenvorakijakarn who became crippled after being exposed to the toxic fumes. Usa, now 27, is blind in the right eye and deaf in the right ear. Her remaining vision is deteriorating. Satellite warnings to help fight fires Ploenpote Atthakor A satellite-based early forest-fire warning system will help fire fighters do their job, says Suvit Ongsomwang, a senior official of the Forest Research Office. The system, which uses satellite information from the US, is a co-operative venture between the Asian Institute of Technology, University of Tokyo and the Geographic Information System (GIS) Development Agency under the Research Council of Thailand. A ground receiving station would be set up on the AIT campus next week and everything should be running by next year, he said. The warning system will help fire fighters find forest fire more accurately, boosting fire control capacity. Death toll may hit 100,000 The chances of pulling further survivors from beneath the wreckage of India’s killer earthquake dwindled to near zero yesterday, even after a teenage boy was rescued. The country’s defence minister estimated 100,000 people may have died in the disaster. Friday's 7.9-magnitude quake flattened two towns in India's western Gujarat state, and government officials have counted 6,432 bodies so far, with 16,557 others injured. Scrapping of entrance exams hailed as a step forward Sirikul Bunnag University entrance exams will be scrapped in 2004 to be replaced by grade point averages and aptitude tests. At a meeting yesterday, rectors from 24 state universities agreed entrance exams should no longer be used as a criteria to pick students. Under the new system, students will be offered university places on the basis of their grade point averages and the results of aptitude tests, similar to the US system of scholastic aptitude tests (SATs). Sumontha Promboon, who chaired the meeting, said the new system is not as fiercely competitive as the current system and would help take the pressure off students and their parents. Education officials, parents and students all welcomed the new system.

Activity Two

Suppose your school has a weekly newspaper and you are its editor. Each week, you and your staff write stories about your school and your community, but you also include several short stories from the Bangkok Post. Look through the stories on this page and choose four of them for your newspaper. Explain your choices.

Look today’s issue of one or more Thai newspapers. What are the main news stories covered today? Why do you think they were chosen. Which of these stories also appeared in the Bangkok Post? Which stories did not? Why do you think the Bangkok Post chose not to cover them?