News is information about a recent change in a situation or about a current event. This information is usually provided through a variety of media: word of mouth, printed publications such as newspapers and books, postal systems, broadcasting, or electronic communication. The content of the news may be factual, but it is often presented with a subjective opinion. News stories should be accurate, but they also need to be interesting. Otherwise, people will not read or share them.
What makes something newsworthy will vary between different societies. For example, a man waking up and taking the bus to work may not be newsworthy in one society, but it could be if he is doing this for the first time or if he is doing it at an unusual age. In general, though, things that are new, unusual, interesting, significant or about people make the news.
It is the job of the journalist to decide what is newsworthy, and how much detail to give about it. In order to do this, he or she must assess how important the story is and how many of the above criteria it meets. Usually the most important events will be given prominence, with Page One headlines and detailed articles. Less important events will be placed elsewhere in the paper. A newspaper can be a very broad publication, covering a range of topics such as world news, business, politics, education, health, weather, the environment and celebrity. It can contain opinions, advice columns, sports news, crosswords and comics.
The journalist must also decide whether or not to include the opinions of others in a news article. If he or she does, this is known as an editorial. In most cases it is better to let the subject of a story do the talking. Interviewing is a good way to do this, but it is not always possible or appropriate.
News stories should be written in clear, concise sentences. Long tangents and winding sentences can put the reader off and cause them to lose interest. It is also advisable to use the inverted pyramid structure when writing an article, placing the most critical information at the beginning of the story and then building up to it.
It is not easy to determine what is and what is not newsworthy, but if a journalist follows the rules of good journalism then the end result should be an objective, accurate article that engages readers and encourages them to share it with their friends. The news will then have served its purpose. It will have informed and educated, and the public will be a better informed and more understanding citizenry. This will be beneficial to all parties, and it is hoped that this will continue to be the case in future. The world’s largest news broadcaster is CNN, followed by BBC and then ABC. Other major sources of international news are Al Jazeera and Russia Today, both of which have multiplatform presences worldwide.