# File news2atom, line 480
  def initialize(name, short, status, type, description)
    unless KNOWN_STATUS.include? status then
      raise Exception.new("status must be one of " + KNOWN_STATUS)
    end
    unless KNOWN_TYPE.include? type then
      raise Exception.new("type must be one of " + KNOWN_TYPE)
    end
    @name = name
    @short = short
    @status = status
    @type = type
    @description = description
    @value = nil
  end