News is a form of communication that reports current events. It can be in the form of a radio or television broadcast, a newspaper article or an online blog. News is generally written for a general audience and is designed to inform and entertain. It can also have a political or social agenda.
It is important to remember that the job of the news media is to inform and educate, not to entertain alone. There are plenty of other ways to amuse the public – music and drama programs on radio, cartoons in newspapers, and so forth. The information in the news should be presented in a way that is as objective as possible and should not contain any biases. The information in a news article should be attributed to its source – for example, through direct quotes or paraphrasing. It is also important to note the source of the information in case readers want to follow up on it.
One important aspect of writing a news article is that it must be timed right. If it is not, then the reader will lose interest and turn to something else. This means that the best stories should be placed at the top of the newspaper or online – above the fold. In a newspaper, this refers to the crease that is created by folding the paper in half, so that it is easier for readers to read the more important stories first. In the digital age, this refers to the portion of a Web page that is visible before it requires scrolling down to see more.
The classic definition of news is that it is “unusual and significant.” However, this can be subjective. For example, a man waking up, eating breakfast and going to work on the bus might be unusual for him, but it would not be very significant. On the other hand, if a woman was murdered on her way to work by a stranger, then that would be very significant news.
People are the center of most news stories, because they are the ones that affect the world around us. It is also important to remember that things can become newsworthy if they have a high impact on society as a whole or if they are of great significance to a group of people. For example, an insect that is affecting the crops of peasant farmers might be newsworthy because it is of a great importance to them.
Another aspect of news is that it should be local. If a newspaper is covering a small town, it needs to focus on the local news and not global or national events unless they have a direct impact on the community. This also applies to websites that are devoted to local news.