A study examined whether the presence of certain news values, particularly those identified by Western journalists as important, affect reader interest in a news story. Timeliness, prominence, cultural proximity, and conflict, separate and in combination, were the four news values (independent variables) under study. The dependent variable, reader interest, was measured by the scored value of a manufactured news item. Forty sets of news items were created, each set consisting of an experimental item that included a news value or a pair of news values, and a corresponding item without the news value. Subjects, 240 undergraduates in three classes of an introductory mass communications course at a university in the southern United States, were divided into an experimental group, which read the news item containing news values, and a control group, which read the item with no values. All subjects then completed separate questionnaires on reader interest. Results indicated that the presence of news items containing conflict and proximity news values scored significantly higher in reader interest than items that did not contain those news values. Additionally, all combinations of the experimental news items, except for the combination of timely/prominent, were scored significantly higher than the control combination items. Results also showed a significant relationship between frequency of viewing television news (and reading newspapers) and interest in foreign news. Journalism majors and individuals who had visited foreign countries showed a slightly higher, but not significant, interest in foreign news. Generally, the respondents were more interested in reading news that concerned the United States or culturally proximate nations than they were in reading news about foreign countries. (Comprehensive tables of data and 38 references are appended.) (NKA)