News is a means of transmitting current and interesting events from every moment and everywhere to the public. News is delivered to the people in the form of newspaper, magazine, radio or television. The main function of News is to inform the public.
The selection of news is a critical process in any media environment. Many factors contribute to what is considered newsworthy. These include: societal changes and development (political, economic and cultural); social trends; the nature of news events (e.g. accidents, murders and disasters); the availability of sources (e.g. interviews, letters, investigations, surveys and polls); the competition for exclusives; the influence of proprietors and advertisers; the beliefs systems of journalists – what one might call their “news values” – as a result of their upbringing and their professional experiences; and the fact that there is always more than one version of any story.
It is also important to remember that a piece of news can be both good and bad. Good news stories are generally those which affect the lives of people in a major way. They may also be those which have the potential to change people’s habits.
For example, the news of a coup d’etat in a neighbouring country is big news because it is likely to affect the stability of that country. Similarly, an insect which is threatening to destroy the world’s food supply is a big news item because it has the potential to affect the lives of all of us in some way.
Other factors which make an event newsworthy include its significance and whether it is unique. People are interested in those things which affect their daily lives, and they are particularly interested when something has not happened before or when it is rare. Likewise, they are interested in those things which affect the lives of their families and friends.
Once a story has been selected, it is then a matter of choosing how to present it. The most important information must be presented first. This is sometimes known as the inverted pyramid principle. The most important information should be placed at the top of the pyramid, and the less significant information should follow on afterwards. This enables those who do not want to read all of the article, or can only spare a brief amount of time, to get a quick overview of the key points.
The news story is then written, and should contain facts from your research and quotes from the people involved. It should not contain your own opinions. The story should be concise and clear, using the active voice rather than passive voice. It is also a good idea to spell out the names of people and places where possible, as well as spelling out dates. Finally, it is a good idea to proofread the article before it is published. This will ensure that there are no typos, and that the content is accurate. In addition, if it is a newspaper article then it should be fact-checked by the appropriate staff.