Here's a question I've been asked many, many times: "How do you decide what qualifies as news and what doesn't?" I do answer the question, but I don't give an answer you'd find in any book about journalism. I tell people, "News to me is anything I didn't previously know."
If you're telling me that someone just died, I consider that news. If you're telling me the traffic is awful today, I consider that news. If you're telling me what Congress is up to, I consider that news. If you're telling me the name of Maine's state bird, I consider that news, since I didn't previously know what it was. It's the chickadee. And the next time I hear that, I won't consider it news any more than I would consider it news that George Washington was the first president of the United States. I don't use the term "old news", either. I used to have a standard joke about old news, but it's not as funny now that you can no longer buy a new Olds.
Anyway, somebody yesterday asked me why we, the radio station people, thought it was news that someone had come up with a top ten list of the greatest rock and roll guitar riffs of all time. I said it was news because we didn't previously know it. The person disagreed, saying something should only be considered news if it has a profound effect on your life. My answer, of course, was, "How do you know this won't?"
Anyway, here's that top ten list. It's 70 percent British, but that might have something to do with the fact that it was voted upon by listeners of BBC Radio 2, which is also British.
1. Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
2. Sweet Child o' Mine – Guns 'n' Roses 3. Back in Black – AC/DC 4. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple 5. Layla – Derek and the Dominoes 6. How Soon is Now? – The Smiths 7. Down Down – Status Quo 8. Money for Nothing – Dire Straits 9. You Really Got Me – The Kinks 10. Money – Pink Floyd
I like the list, except that I would drop both "How Soon is Now" and "Down Down" further down, probably to somewhere in the triple digits. And I'd replace them with "Oh Pretty Woman" and "Satisfaction", just off the top of my head. As I say quite often, your taste may vary.
And no, despite rumors to the contrary, KBOI never used the slogan, "If it happens in Boise, it's news to us!"
