Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
News values are the characteristics of an event or piece of information that determine its suitability for selection as news.
Common news values include timeliness, impact, proximity, conflict, and prominence.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Let us analyze both statements:
- Statement (I): Timeliness is a fundamental news value. News is a perishable commodity, and events that are occurring now or in the immediate past have higher relevance to an audience than older events. This statement is correct.
- Statement (II): "Impact" refers to how much an event affects the audience's lives. An event that directly affects a larger number of people has higher news value. Therefore, stating that the news value decreases when more readers are affected is incorrect.
Thus, Statement (I) is correct but Statement (II) is incorrect.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The correct option is (C).