News is anything that you see, hear, or read in a newspaper, magazine, radio, television, or on the Internet. This could be any number of events, including but not limited to: crimes, elections, sports events, natural disasters, health care, government actions, wars and peace talks, inventions, etc.
Unlike history or other things you learn in school that may be old news, most news you see, hear or read is current or recent. This is important because it means you are hearing about something that is happening now and not something that happened a decade ago or even last year.
Drama: Many news stories have a dramatic element to them that makes them stand out and make readers pay attention to them. This is especially true if there is a clear good guy and bad guy involved in the situation or event. For example, if you see a news story about someone robbing a convenience store, it will likely be dramatic and grab the reader’s attention immediately.
The Gatekeeping Process:
When deciding what to put on the news, gatekeepers consider several factors. They look at the timeliness of a story, how it fits into their agenda and their advertising profit goals. They also consider if the story is going to cause them any problems with advertisers and if their audiences will be able to find out about it quickly.
In addition, they may have to deal with a conflict between what they want their audience to know and what is considered good news. This is especially important when the news organization is competing with other sources of news, such as social media or the Internet.
The most common factor that determines whether a story will be considered news is the amount of drama it contains. This is because the drama can help the audience feel that they are in control of what they are reading and will therefore be able to decide how to react to the story.