To make you ask questions; okay, that was originally supposed to be sarcastic, but, you know what, that's actually a decent response. It's always good to ask questions. But also seriously, the seven elements to newsworthiness are:
1. Timeliness (The more recent something happened, the more it will interest readers.) - Well, it was timely when Higgs posted it ...
2. Proximity (If something is close to us, it is very likely to matter to us.) - In this case, the proximity is that the story involves a member of our little social group, rather than geographically (excepting you happen to live in Boise, too, of course).
3. Conflict (Conflicts are newsworthy because we want to know who's winning and who said what.) - Not really much conflict in the actual story (you don't need all the elements to be news, just enough), but we definitely have conflict covered anyway.
4. Possible future impact (If something is happening right now that means we will either progress or suffer a consequence, it's pretty newsworthy.) - Well, you yourself brought up a consequence of this story; it makes furries look bad. Ironically, the opponents of this story being run are actually proving that the story is newsworthy.
5. Prominence (What happens to important people is important to us.} - Admittedly, this guy was a nobody (and I doubt the cat was that famous, either), so this story does lack prominence.
6. Human interest (Humans like hearing about other humans interacting, living, being, experiencing.) - This is also pretty much lacking; however the blog entry I Googled to refresh my memory of the elements (and am quoting from) does, ironically, contain this line: "And, because we are animal lovers and pet owners, our furry friends might make the news, too." This story is seriously not what the post's author is talking about when describing "human interest," but it's one of those macabre little jokes the universe sometimes throws up for you, and you just gotta go with it.
And finally ...
7. Shock Value (Is it weird?) - Yes, that's an element of newsworthiness, and if you don't think a guy screwing a cat isn't this, you've got problems.
So, we've got 1, 2, 4, 7 and maybe 3. Even not counting 3, four for seven ain't bad.
So, in answer to your question, "Why was it necessary that this be covered?"
It was necessary that this be covered because we are a news site and this is FRIGGIN' NEWS!
"Why was it necessary that this be covered?"
To make you ask questions; okay, that was originally supposed to be sarcastic, but, you know what, that's actually a decent response. It's always good to ask questions. But also seriously, the seven elements to newsworthiness are:
1. Timeliness (The more recent something happened, the more it will interest readers.) - Well, it was timely when Higgs posted it ...
2. Proximity (If something is close to us, it is very likely to matter to us.) - In this case, the proximity is that the story involves a member of our little social group, rather than geographically (excepting you happen to live in Boise, too, of course).
3. Conflict (Conflicts are newsworthy because we want to know who's winning and who said what.) - Not really much conflict in the actual story (you don't need all the elements to be news, just enough), but we definitely have conflict covered anyway.
4. Possible future impact (If something is happening right now that means we will either progress or suffer a consequence, it's pretty newsworthy.) - Well, you yourself brought up a consequence of this story; it makes furries look bad. Ironically, the opponents of this story being run are actually proving that the story is newsworthy.
5. Prominence (What happens to important people is important to us.} - Admittedly, this guy was a nobody (and I doubt the cat was that famous, either), so this story does lack prominence.
6. Human interest (Humans like hearing about other humans interacting, living, being, experiencing.) - This is also pretty much lacking; however the blog entry I Googled to refresh my memory of the elements (and am quoting from) does, ironically, contain this line: "And, because we are animal lovers and pet owners, our furry friends might make the news, too." This story is seriously not what the post's author is talking about when describing "human interest," but it's one of those macabre little jokes the universe sometimes throws up for you, and you just gotta go with it.
And finally ...
7. Shock Value (Is it weird?) - Yes, that's an element of newsworthiness, and if you don't think a guy screwing a cat isn't this, you've got problems.
So, we've got 1, 2, 4, 7 and maybe 3. Even not counting 3, four for seven ain't bad.
So, in answer to your question, "Why was it necessary that this be covered?"
It was necessary that this be covered because we are a news site and this is FRIGGIN' NEWS!