By what criteria does a newsroom decide a topic is worth covering at all?

Mainly its relevance and its interest to the audience — does it matter, and will people care?

* The two criteria as axes: the ideal story scores on both, and letting interest alone win slides toward sensationalism. *

Before craft and verification comes selection: out of endless possible stories, which deserve resources? Two criteria dominate:

• Relevance — the substantive importance of the topic: how many people it affects, its societal or political weight, its consequences.
• Audience interest (Publikumsinteresse) — whether the public actually wants to read, watch or hear about it.

These can pull in different directions: something highly relevant (a dry but consequential regulation) may bore the audience, while something the audience loves (celebrity gossip) may be trivial. Good editorial judgement balances the two rather than chasing clicks alone — letting interest fully override relevance is how a newsroom slides into sensationalism.

Go deeper:

• News values — relevance vs audience interest, formalised into newsworthiness factors.