News is information about events, current affairs and other things that affect people’s lives. It can be about war, government, politics, business, education, health, the environment, fashion, music and sport. It can also be about quirky or unusual events. News articles should be written in a way that is interesting and engaging to readers. They should include lots of facts and be well researched. They should also have a clear and concise structure and be easy to read.
People make judgments about what is newsworthy all the time. If a girl goes to university, that’s newsworthy for some people but not for others. A man gets up in the morning, eats breakfast and takes the bus to work is not newsworthy. But if that same man is 90 years old and still catching the bus every day, then that’s a story which could be considered newsworthy.
The deciding factor about what is newsworthy is how new or unusual it is. The timeliness of a news event is another important aspect to consider. It doesn’t do a newspaper much good to talk about something which happened a week ago; the community has already moved on and will want to hear about different events.
If an event is newsworthy, it is usually because it has significance to the majority of a population or society. A significant political event, such as a presidential election, is likely to be newsworthy as are terrorist attacks or natural disasters. A significant development in the life of a celebrity may be newsworthy as well.
It is usually the case that a person’s first name and initials are used for all references in a news article, unless there is a compelling reason to use their middle initial. This is to prevent confusion and jarring the reader with unexpected switches of person. It is also a good idea to avoid using a full name for the first time in a news article as this can be seen as too intrusive.
The purpose of news is to inform, educate and amuse the readers or listeners. However, this doesn’t mean that the news should be dull or boring. Many newspapers, radio and television shows offer entertainment in addition to the news. This is often done through music and drama programmes, crosswords and cartoons.
In the United States, cable news services are able to broadcast live events from around the world which can be watched and heard by anyone with access to a television or computer. This has changed the way news is reported as it means that events which would previously have taken hours or days to reach people in small towns or countries can now be delivered to them instantaneously. A recent study found that the vast majority of what is called “news” contains little or no original reporting. Most of it is simply repackaged and repeated from other sources. The study also found that the government initiates most news stories.
