Proximity is an influential news value, which has both cultural and spatial dynamics. Cultural proximity refers to the relevance of an event to an audience, whereas spatial proximity refers to the geographical imminence of an event (Jewkes, 2004). Proximity varies greatly between local and national news reporting. For example, a rather common crime such as an assault may be reported in the local news, although it may not reach the national news unless it adapts to other news values, such as the involvement of a child (Jewkes, 2004). The involvement of children in crime is understood to increase the newsworthiness of a news story, however, there are very few crimes that generate high profile, international news coverage and cause public outcry,
