What is News?

News is a collection of factual reports about events, people, places and things. It is often published in newspapers or online. It is important to have a clear purpose and to provide accurate, concise information. It should also be fair and balanced.

It is not easy to create good News. A story needs to be new, unusual, interesting and significant to make it worthwhile. The way in which these criteria are applied varies from society to society. For example, if something happens in your own country, it is not likely to be very significant but a coup in the next country will have greater impact.

Most people get their news from local media but this is changing as traditional television, radio and print outlets are losing their audiences. New media, blogs and specialist news sites are increasingly filling in the gaps in reporting on local events. There is much debate about how this modern news “ecosystem” works and what its role should be.

A lot of news stories contain little or no original information. This is because journalists and news outlets have a range of prejudices that influence their choices about what to report. However, there are some organisations that provide a service to help readers understand the bias of various sources and suggest ways to get a more balanced view of an issue. The aims of these services are to encourage informed citizenship. These websites are recommended. The best news articles are written to engage the reader on an emotional level. They should highlight all the major facts and include quotes from sources where possible. They should also allow the reader to form their own opinion, even if this is in opposition to the writer’s own.