News is a collection of items that appear in newspapers and magazines, radio, television and the Internet. They inform people of events, activities and issues that are going on in their local area, country or across the world. News can be positive or negative and it is important to keep people informed. People are able to make better decisions when they have all the facts at hand.
A news story should be written in an interesting and informative manner that will capture the attention of the reader. The first part of the news article is often the most important and should contain the main details about the event or issue. It is also important to give the reader an idea of the background or cause of the issue, so that they can understand what is happening. A good news article will be unbiased and will not take sides. A good way to write a news article is to follow the inverted pyramid style. This structure places the most important information at the top of the article and then gives a summary of the main points in descending order at the end. The most common examples of this are the weather report at the beginning of a newspaper and the results of a meeting or vote (‘this happened, then this happened…’).
People are interested in a variety of different topics. These include war, government, politics, education, health, the environment and business. People are also interested in what is going on around them, such as the weather, their friends and family, the local sports team and celebrity gossip.
The most important factor in determining what makes a news story is the impact it has on society. This impact can be positive or negative and is often based on the perception of how significant the issue is. Other factors include the ‘wow factor’, which is the ability to shock and entertain the reader, as well as the level of knowledge required to read or understand the news item.
Traditionally, a town crier would deliver the news of the day to people in the streets and in public buildings. Today, it is more likely that news will be delivered via the mass media, such as television, radio and newspapers. The Internet has become a valuable source of news for many people, as it provides instantaneous updates on the latest developments in the world.
The process of creating a news article begins with an editor or writer who decides what is likely to interest his or her audience. This is usually done by studying the audience profile of a particular newspaper, magazine or online news service. A collection of stories is then laid out on dummy pages, and once the chief editor has approved the content and language used in the material, it will be sent for publication. This may be on a daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.