News is information about a recent, interesting or significant event or development. It may be about war, government, politics, education, health or the economy. It can also be about celebrity, fashion or sport. News has always been important but in the modern world it can travel fast and is often spread by email, mobile phones and the Internet. It can be from official sources such as governments or police but it is increasingly being created by amateurs, known as citizen journalists. This has resulted in the lines between for-profit, public and non-profit media becoming blurred.
When something happens that is newsworthy, it is usually reported in the form of an article. A news article needs to be able to capture the reader’s attention within a short space of time and then deliver the key elements of the story. It should not contain opinions but it should be written in a manner that gives readers some insight into the events that have occurred. It should also include a timeline to help people understand the chronology of events and a list of any names involved.
The main source of news stories is still governmental bodies but, over the past few decades, the number of privately owned international news networks has increased. They are popular with audiences around the world and are often viewed as alternative or independent to mainstream news sources. Governments also have their own news channels with broadcasts aimed at different audiences.
It is the human element of a story that makes it newsworthy. For this reason, the majority of news stories are about people. However, some news stories are about non-human events such as a natural disaster, an accident or a crime. When a non-human event occurs, it is generally considered to be more dramatic than an ordinary everyday occurrence and therefore has greater news value.
Some things are not newsworthy at all. For example, if a man wakes up, has breakfast and then goes to work on the bus every day, this is not newsworthy. People do not want to read about ordinary or mundane activities. Newsworthy items must be unusual and exciting, for example, a murder or an earthquake.
Locality is another key factor in newsworthiness. It is not possible for large, global news sources to cover all of the world’s events. Locality determines how much importance is given to a particular topic and which events are included in the news. For a small, community newspaper, it is unlikely that worldwide news will make the front page and it would be more useful to focus on what is happening locally.
A good news story is well researched, concise and easy to read. It is likely to have a snappy headline and a timeline that shows the event in order of significance. It will also have a list of names that are significant or of interest to the audience. It will be based on fact but will incorporate some opinion from experts in the field or anecdotes from people who are close to the subject.