What Is News?
News is a genre of articles and stories that inform, educate and entertain. News can be delivered via print or broadcast media such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television but it can also be found online in social media or on blogs. Most people agree that the main purpose of news is to inform and educate its readers, listeners or viewers. However, this doesn’t mean that news should not be entertaining. There are a number of ways to incorporate entertainment into news – such as music and drama on the radio or crossword puzzles in a newspaper.
In order to be considered newsworthy, an event or situation must have a significant impact on the lives of its readers, listeners or viewers. While this is a simple concept, it can be difficult to determine what impact an event will have. Some events are more significant than others but all newsworthy events must be based on reality.
A good news story begins with a headline that is catchy, emotion evoking and/or provocative. It then outlines all the important facts of the story in an easy-to-read format. Finally, the news article should include quotes from those involved and any additional information that would help the reader understand the context of the story.
Generally speaking, most news is about people and their effect on society. This includes crime (road traffic accidents, robberies, burglaries and murders), wars and political unrest. It can also include weather conditions such as cyclones, bush fires and droughts or natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions.
Most news stories are selected by editors or journalists based on their ability to engage, influence and inform. This may be done through a number of different factors including the ability to evoke emotion, incorporate violence and scandal and/or be familiar and local. There are a number of models of news making which try to explain how and why some stories are selected over others but they do not always account for all the factors at play.
It is also important to note that even if a news source is not directly biased, its editors or journalists may have unconscious biases which affect the content of their news. Many websites exist which offer advice on identifying bias in the information one consumes as well as suggesting ways to find unbiased sources of news.
In general, a news story is written in the inverted pyramid style which means the most important information is put at the top of the article. This is to ensure that the most critical details are seen first and encourages readers to keep reading. This is particularly important when writing for the web where most people do not read all the way down to the bottom of a page. It is also a best practice to avoid opinions in a news article except where necessary to clarify the facts.