News is the information about events which are happening now or which have just happened. It can be delivered in many ways: by post, on the radio, television and through the Internet.
News can be about anything: war, politics, sports, natural disasters, economic affairs, education, the environment and health. The most common topic of news stories, however, is people. Humans make news, especially when they do something unusual or dramatic.
It is important to note, however, that a story does not have to be about a person in order to be newsworthy. Non-human events can also be newsworthy, such as an earthquake, a flood, a tornado, a fire or an eruption.
Most people would agree that the purpose of news is to inform and educate its audience. This does not, however, mean that it should be boring! Entertainment can come from other areas of the media – music and drama on radio and television; crosswords or cartoons in newspapers. In fact, it is a good idea to report things which are purely entertaining if they have the potential to appeal to a large audience, as these stories may be more likely to be shared on social media and forwarded around the world.
Whether it is a major national event or a minor local one, the way in which a news item is presented can affect its impact. Generally speaking, the most important and/or controversial news will be given prime time and prominent coverage. Less significant news is more likely to appear later in the bulletin or on an inside page.
The nature of news changes with the times and the development of technology. It is therefore important to keep up with current research into news values and how they are affected by the various forms of media.
Brighton and Foy, for example, have developed an updated version of Galtung and Ruge’s original matrix to account for the effects of broadcast journalism, rolling news and the Internet on news selection. It is an attempt to provide a more complete framework for understanding the process of selecting news items.
They suggest that seven criteria should be taken into account: Magnitude; Topicality; Complementary/Contrasting; Unusualness; Worth and External Influences. Although they are not meant as a definitive list, these criteria can help to explain the variety and range of news items reported.
Despite the fact that we are constantly bombarded with news, it is not always easy to decide what to believe and what to ignore. It is, therefore, essential to be able to distinguish between good and bad sources of information, so that we can avoid being misled. The best way to do this is to seek out a variety of sources, some which support your own beliefs and some which challenge them. This will allow you to evaluate the claims and conclusions made by different authors with greater confidence. It is also a good idea to consider the implications of any particular piece of news and its possible effect on society as a whole.
