What Makes News?
News is information about current events, often based on reports by professional journalists and amateurs. It can be about a range of topics including politics, war, crime, business, natural disasters and celebrity. The information is conveyed through various media such as newspapers, television and radio. In many countries the free press is seen as the oxygen of democracy, providing people with a voice and information that can help them to make informed choices. There is no such thing as unbiased news, however, and the prejudices of both journalists and news outlets will affect how a story is presented.
News articles should always be factual, but they must also be interesting and engaging. The more the reader is drawn into the story, the more likely they are to share it and discuss it with others. In order to keep readers interested, the writer should present a range of different perspectives on the topic. This can be done by interviewing experts, analysing data and presenting both sides of an argument. In this way the reader can make up their own mind about what is important and what is not.
The ‘Five Ps’ of news are used to assess whether something is newsworthy, namely, a) Proximity b) Controversy c) People involved d) Public debate and e) Prominence
It is thought that each of these factors has some influence on what does or doesn’t make the cut for news stories. The idea is that these criteria reflect the concerns of the audience and are a guide to journalists about what kind of information they should be reporting.
While some theories about what makes news have sprung up, there are no definitive answers to this question. Some scholars have proposed models to explain the process of selecting and presenting news, but these are only a starting point for discussion.
The most common kind of news is hard news, which explains why it usually appears on the front page of a newspaper, at the top of a website or at the beginning of a news broadcast. This kind of news is about something serious or significant that is happening right now, affecting a large number of people.
Other kinds of news can include political proclamations, royal ceremonies and laws, as well as the latest fashions and trends. Other popular news subjects include crime, money, the environment, health and sport.
The best source of news is probably a major national newspaper or broadcaster, but there are also a wide variety of specialist sites and blogs. If you want to get a broad overview of a subject, it is worth following a few different news sources to see the various viewpoints they take on each issue. This can be achieved by using a news aggregator, which collects headlines from several websites and presents them side by side. A good source of unbiased news is the BBC, which is known for its neutrality and independence from commercial pressures.