The news is what people read to find out about the world around them. It is a mixture of events, ideas, opinions and information which affects everyone. It is a mixture of both fact and opinion and should be presented in a fair and balanced manner. The factual information should be correct and the opinion should be based on knowledge and experience.
News can be anything from a local burglary to a world political crisis. It can be funny or serious, shocking or trivial and can be reported by all types of media from television to the internet. It is important to have a balance of different viewpoints when consuming the news to avoid being manipulated by the media.
When writing a news article it is important to remember that the headline is the first thing that most readers will see and therefore should catch their attention. The best headlines are short, snappy and informative and will contain a strong news angle which will grab the reader’s interest. It is also important to ensure that any quotes are attributed to their original source.
It is essential to stay up to date with news on all levels, from international and governmental to local and community. This will help to avoid being caught unawares by current affairs which could impact on your life. It is also a good idea to sign up for a few news aggregation sites which can provide you with a quick hit of all the important stories from around the world.
The classic definition of news is that it is “when a dog bites a man.” Although this is not universal, it gives an indication as to the type of stories that make the news. Generally speaking, what is newsworthy will differ from society to society but should include such things as the latest developments in science and technology, celebrity gossip, sport and crime.
Another element of newsworthiness is that it is significant to the community. The reason that bugs threatening a crop are newsworthy is because it is significant to farmers who are trying to feed their families. This is the same for natural disasters which are also considered to be newsworthy such as cyclones, bush fires, drought and volcanic eruptions.
The final factor in determining what is newsworthy is that it must be interesting to the public. This is an important consideration as the public are the ones who pay for the news through their subscriptions to newspapers and radio and television. If the news does not interest them it will quickly lose popularity and their money.
The truth is that there is no such thing as a completely unbiased news story as the prejudices of the journalist and the newspaper will always influence what is reported. However, by reading several different sources and using a news aggregator such as Google News, you can be sure that you are getting a diverse range of views on any given topic.