What Is News?
News is information about current events. It can be conveyed by word of mouth, printed media such as newspapers and books, postal systems, broadcasting or electronic communication, or through testimony from observers and witnesses to events. News articles may focus on politics, government, business, education, health, fashion, entertainment, sports, or the environment.
News articles are typically written in third person, though some journalists use first or second person. When writing a news article it is important to be factual, but also interesting and engaging for your audience. The most effective way to add interest to a piece of news is by using quotes from the people involved in the event. For example, if you are writing about the results of a football game, include a quote from the coach or one of the players. This will add a human element to the story and also allow readers to draw their own conclusions about the results. When using quotations, it is important to always include the first name and initial of the person being quoted, as well as their occupation. This allows readers to identify the speaker and can prevent confusion or jarring shifts in voice.
Generally, to be considered newsworthy an event or discovery must be unusual, significant or about people. However, it is possible to have a newsworthy story without all of these elements. For example, if an insect has been discovered living on a plant that it did not previously inhabit, this would be interesting and significant for scientists but may not interest a general newspaper or news broadcast. On the other hand, if this insect has a massive appetite and can consume plants much larger than itself, then it could be newsworthy.
Another important aspect of news is that it must be new. It does not do a newspaper or news broadcast any good to report on an assassination that happened last week; the public will have already moved on from that news. This is why it is common for news outlets to feature breaking stories, or those which are not old enough to have already been reported on.
The job of the news media is to inform and educate its viewers, listeners or readers. Although it is often entertaining as well, this is not the primary purpose of news; this can be accomplished through other areas such as music and drama on radio or cartoons and crosswords in a newspaper.
Whether it is printed in a newspaper or on the internet, an effective news article must be presented clearly and concisely. This is why it is generally advisable to write the headline of your news article last, after you have finalised all other components of the article. This will ensure that the most important information is displayed first, above the fold in a newspaper or on the screen before scrolling down in an online publication. This will increase the likelihood that readers will continue to read your article, rather than skipping over it.