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Background: In Finland, we have a word "uutiskynnys", and I am looking for a good translation for it. Literally it translates as "news threshold" or "news doorstep".

Uutiskynnys is used to measure if a news article is interesting enough to gain space in a newspaper (or any media). "Jimmy learned to ride a bike" is probably not interesting enough to get over the very high doorstep to the newsroom, while "deaf, blind and paraplegic Jimmy rides a bike to school every day" quite possibly is.

The essential meaning is to step over the doorstep ("kynnys") to the news ("uutis").

Google translated it as "news threshold", but google search did not convince me that it is used as such term.

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Newsworthiness is the nearest synonym I can think of.

The definition of newsworthy is:

(adjective) of sufficient interest to the public or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.

Examples:

"I question the newsworthiness of some of the items on today's front page."

"How is it that the Kardashians are newsworthy but the hospital renovation is not?"

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  • As a non-native english speaker, I am not able to determine if it is common media slang or not. I must add that it is sometimes used sarcastically "why did the Kardashians cross the threshold but the hospital renovation did not?". But yes, it is basically about the worthiness for print.
    – diynevala
    Commented Feb 20, 2020 at 7:22
  • It's a pretty common word not at all restricted to people who work in the media. I've updated my answer to give a couple of examples.
    – nnnnnn
    Commented Feb 20, 2020 at 7:25
  • I feel a bit stupid as I got stuck with the doorstep/fence/obstacle to "get over". I guess I could not get over my own idea. I should have thought of measuring one's value, worth. Thank you.
    – diynevala
    Commented Feb 20, 2020 at 7:32
  • What’s newsworthy depends on what else is happening at the time. A book publication may be competing with a volcanic eruption. Some things can wait, others cannot.
    – Xanne
    Commented Feb 20, 2020 at 9:14
  • @Xanne That is where the Finnish term gets very handy: Worthiness is a measurable and comparable thing, while Uutiskynnys more like yes/no condition. even celebrities are worth something to the publication.
    – diynevala
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 7:13

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