News is the aggregation and transmission of information about current events. It was once limited to printed media but is now available on a range of platforms such as radio, TV and the internet. It typically adheres to journalistic principles.
People are interested in news stories for a variety of reasons. They may be concerned about safety, health or the environment and they want to know what is happening in their local area or in other parts of the world. They also enjoy reading about famous people and their lives, or about events that have happened to them or their families. The more dramatic or interesting the story, the more likely it will be to make the headlines.
It is important to remember that the job of the news media – newspapers, magazines, radio and television – is to inform and educate. This does not mean that they are there to entertain but rather that the entertainment should come from other sources such as music and drama on the radio, or crosswords and cartoons in a newspaper or magazine.
When writing a news article, it is important to get to the point as quickly as possible. This is why it is always best to put the most important information at the top of the page, above what is referred to as the fold. This term comes from the way that papers are folded, with the main news articles placed above a crease. This is also the best place to put a lead or headline, which will draw readers in and encourage them to keep reading.
If the topic is serious, then it is a good idea to follow up the main points with more detail and background information. This will help to give the reader a fuller understanding and allow them to form their own opinions. It is also a good idea to include quotes from those involved, as this can add a human element to the story and help the reader connect with the subject matter.
It is also a good idea to source the news from a number of different places, in order to gain an appreciation of how each publication interprets and reports on the same event. This can be done by using a news aggregator site which gathers a variety of different sources in one place. This will also help to highlight any bias that is present in a particular source. There are many sites online which offer advice on how to identify and avoid biased information. This can be particularly helpful when sourcing news from the internet, as it can be difficult to distinguish between different sources of information. A good example of a site which offers advice on this is FactChecking.org, which provides links to various websites that offer information on the bias of a particular source.