What Makes It News?

http://dnainfo.com/20100914/downtown/michael-moore-raises-50000-for-islamic-center-near-ground-zero

I was watching "Real Time With Bill Maher" and his guest speaker was the controversial film maker Michael Moore. Although the show is formatted as a talk show, there are so many political issues discussed and often the most interesting news is revealed. I have been following "The Ground Zero Mosque" story for awhile and when I saw Michael Moore advocating for it on the show, it really surprised me. Michael Moore is launching a website www.michaelmoore.com, where he wants to raise about 10,000 to build the mosque. Donald Trump told the community of New York that he would buy out the area where the mosque would be built and make it into something else. Moore took offense to this and will use his website to ask the American people to "trump" Trump. 
For me this story represents the news value of: impact/significance  because mosques are something that I pay special attention to because they represent my place of worship. It also is conflict because it is being decided whether or not Muslims should have a mosque in the area. It really upset me when Americans were speaking out against it and calling it an "atrocity to the victims" of 9/11, but what most people are not considering is that Muslim Americans also died during the attack on the Two Towers and to dismiss their religion and their place of worship I think implies that all Muslims are terrorists and are responsible for the tragedy.
To use the news value of proximity, a reporter could localize this story by perhaps going to a Bay Area mosque and asking the Imams how they feel about it. They could also go to synagogues and churches to get insight on how other religions feel about a mosque being built and discuss if it is offensive and give their standpoint on the situation. Getting the American opinion would also be important to show how the majority feels about it.

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