News is information about current events, which is delivered through various media sources. This includes newspapers, television, radio and the internet. People read news to keep up with current affairs and events that affect them, or to find out what is happening in the world. News can also be entertaining, or cause controversy and debate.
In the past, newspapers were the main source of news. They were distributed every day and delivered to people’s homes. People would sit down to read the newspaper with their family or friends and discuss the events that had happened in the day. People still enjoy reading news today, but now it is more likely to be on a digital device.
Whether it is on social media or a newspaper, there is always something to catch people’s attention. The best way to write a news article is to make sure that it is interesting, and that the information is accurate. News articles should be unbiased and not give an opinion, but they should provide enough information that readers can form their own opinions about the topic.
A good starting point is to use a hook, which will grab readers’ attention and get them interested in the story. This is often a dramatic anecdote or a surprising fact. It is important to place the hook at the top of the article, above the fold in a newspaper (where there’s a crease) or on the screen before people have to scroll down. This helps ensure that the most important information is seen by the reader.
It is also important to provide background information on the subject matter of a news article. This will help readers understand the issue and why it is important to them. This is sometimes known as the ‘nut graph’ and is a standard procedure taught to journalism students. The nut graph should answer the questions who, what, where, when and why. It is important to place the new developments in context and explain why they are relevant now.
When writing a news article, it is important to include all of the relevant facts without making the story too long. Readers lose interest if they have to keep scrolling down their screen for more information.
In addition to the above, some of the other characteristics that make a story newsworthy are that it involves violence and scandal, is local or relevant, or involves celebrities/elites. Future research might explore the relationship between these different news values, and how they operate in combination to shape news selection. For example, a story that ticks all of the above boxes might not be considered to be particularly ‘newsworthy’. This might indicate that the taxonomy of news values ought to be reconsidered.
