News is a type of media that reports on current events or noteworthy stories. It is usually written objectively and concisely, adhering to journalistic principles. Historically, people have transported news through oral means, but recent technological and social developments have increased the speed with which news is transmitted. The Internet and television have also become important sources of news.
A news story should be something that makes a reader say, “Gee Whiz!” It must be new, interesting, significant, and about people. It is also important to write the story clearly so that readers can understand it, picturesquely so they will appreciate it, and above all accurately, so they will be guided by it.
The definition of news varies from society to society, but there are some things that all societies are interested in. People are concerned about what happens to other people, so that stories about war, politics and government make the news. They are also interested in what happens to other living things, such as animals, plants and weather.
It is also important to report on what people are doing, and especially to report on their achievements and failures. Sports results are often newsworthy, as are awards ceremonies. Business stories and financial news are of great interest to many people, as are fashion and celebrity stories. People are also interested in the arts, and so stories about music, theatre, film and carving are newsworthy. They are also interested in their health, and so are interested in stories about hospitals and clinics, diseases, traditional remedies, drugs and diet. People are also interested in sex, although they may not talk about it openly.
Some news is very local, and some is very global. Local news includes weather, traffic accidents and fires. It is important to report on these stories because they affect the lives of local people. Global news is more interesting because it concerns all the people of the world. It is not unusual for global news to have a political flavour because it involves the interests of all countries.
Some news stories are more serious than others. Any crime is newsworthy, but more serious crimes such as murder or rape are more important than burglary or theft. It is also newsworthy when prominent people are involved in scandals or lose their wealth. Other news is less serious but still of interest to most people, such as the price of oil or the weather forecast. Many newspapers publish a list of their top stories at the front of their newspaper, so that these are read first by most people. This is known as the fold, and it is also important to put the most interesting or significant story at the top of a web article, so that it will be seen before the reader scrolls down. This is known as putting the news above the fold. The phrase is a legacy of paper newspapers, where there was a crease in the paper which would be folded in half.