News is information about events, activities or occurrences that are of significance to people. It can be either current or historic and may include a range of topics such as politics, social affairs, crime, religion, sport, economics and business, as well as natural disasters. It may be delivered in written form through newspapers, magazines or television and radio broadcasts.
A good news article begins with a strong, concise headline that grabs the reader’s attention. It should also clearly explain the nature of the story and its importance. Depending on the audience, the article can then be broken down into paragraphs that answer the important questions ‘who, what, when, where and why’. This can be done in a pyramid structure so that the most relevant information is provided first, followed by less important details. A final paragraph should provide the source of any statements or opinions if they are not already obvious from the text itself. This will help readers to evaluate the reliability of your report.
The selection of news stories for print or online media is a complex process. While market research helps to determine what topics people are interested in, it is up to journalists to dictate what should be highlighted and which facts should be emphasized. They use a series of judgment guidelines which they apply to a wide variety of topics including war, crime and political corruption. Other common subjects of news articles are weather, education, the environment, health, celebrity, and entertainment.
It is important to understand that news articles should only contain factual information and not opinions or analysis. While it is sometimes difficult to separate opinion from news, it is possible to write a balanced article by using different sources and avoiding slants or biases. It is also helpful to remember that the tone of the article should be objective and neutral.
When writing a news article, it is important to remember that the reader wants to know about the most recent events, not necessarily how the events occurred or why they happened. News articles should therefore be brief and focused on the most important facts. They should also be sourced appropriately. When quoting someone, the journalist should use third-person pronouns such as ‘he’,’she’ or ‘it’ rather than first-person pronouns like ‘I’ in order to maintain an objective and impartial tone.
Whether you are writing a news article for a print newspaper or magazine, you should be sure to put the most important information at the top of the page (above the fold). This is because most readers do not read all the way through a news article and the more interesting or significant information is often lost if it is buried in an article that they are not interested in reading. Similarly, when writing for an online news website, the most important information should be placed at the top of the page to ensure that it gets seen by as many people as possible.