Who says: "That's not news!"?

I read this article today HERE, and the writer brings up an important point that is almost an afterthought to the rest of his article, but it is something that has been bothering me for awhile.
He mentions the disparity between topics that get media coverage and those that don't. Sometimes, I am shocked to learn about something that has happened in my area that was completely ignored by local media. Some of these include items that I have written about, taken photos of and submitted to our local newspaper. So, I have to wonder if it's me? Do I just not know what qualifies as news?

Apparently not.

I wrote some articles for the student paper while I attended college. After I revealed that I was the wife of a Seminary student, all of the articles that I was assigned were politically and religiously charged. They were also articles that I could not in good conscience write in a way that would be considered "objective" or "neutral". My bias was bound to shine through, unless I flat-out lied, which I refused to do. I thought, he's just one editor; one liberal, left-leaning editor. I only wrote for the paper for one semester.

Who decides what is newsworthy?

Later, in a Journalism course, we were assigned the task of seeking out real-to-life articles to write. When Allen County held its annual March for Life rally, including speakers Abby Johnson and senator Marlin Stutzman; I thought this is certainly "newsworthy."
 I was wrong. 


Abby Johnson had been the director for Planned Parenthood and shared what she learned during her employment there and how she was affected the first time she actually witnessed an abortion. It is a compelling story; but it's not news.

Senator Marlin Stutzman spoke about his efforts to defund Planned Parenthood in the state of Indiana. It is what his constituents want to hear, but it's not news.

I won't quote my professor exactly, as it's been too long for me to remember it accurately; but, her comment to my article proposal went something like this: A bunch of people walk down the street holding 'baby killer' signs. That's not news!

I attended the rally anyway and I wrote the story anyway. It never got published. But, I knew it wouldn't, because it's not news.