News is the information that is reported in newspapers, magazines, television and radio. It can also be found on the Internet. The purpose of news is to inform and educate the audience about current events. News should also be entertaining but that is usually done through other means – music and drama programs on TV or comics and crossword puzzles in the newspaper.
News articles are generally written in the third person. It is not the writer’s job to inject his or her own opinion into a news story but rather to report the facts of the event as they have occurred. If a personal viewpoint is necessary, the writer should make sure that it does not detract from the overall credibility of the article. It is often necessary to quote sources for factual information but the writer should not use quotes that are unsubstantiated or that slant the information in a biased way.
The events that make news are typically things that do not happen every day and have a significance beyond the personal life of the individual concerned. They can be dramatic, or they may involve a problem that is ongoing or of great concern to many individuals. For example, a rescue attempt of baby tigers that are being moved from an enclosure to another location is newsworthy because it is unusual and concerns the welfare of many animals.
Whether an event makes the news depends upon how much it affects the lives of a large number of people. A stock market crash that sends shockwaves through the financial markets and causes companies to fail and workers to lose their jobs, is a significant event because it affects so many people. Similarly, a coup d’etat in the country next door can be newsworthy because it could influence the stability of that nation.
People are often curious about what is happening in the world around them and turn to their newspapers, TV or radio to find out what is going on. The information that makes it into the newspaper, onto the TV newscast or posted on a website is the decision of people who work for the media company concerned. These people are known as editors, news directors or even news managers and they sift through the recommendations of reporters, assistant editors and other employees in order to determine what will be newsworthy.
The news that is selected is intended to appeal to a large audience and be as dramatic as possible in order to generate interest from viewers, listeners and readers. This is because the people who make decisions about what will be newsworthy are also advertisers and they have a vested interest in capturing as big an audience as possible in order to sell their commercial messages. This explains why some of the news that is reported can sometimes seem to be sensational or biased. However, this does not mean that the general public cannot trust the news that they are getting.