News is a way of communicating information about events in the world. This may be in the form of print, television, radio or online communication.
New, unusual, interesting and significant – all of these criteria make news. A man waking up, eating breakfast and going to work on a bus is not likely to be a news story, but the death of Mao Tse-tung in China would be a very important news event.
People: What people are like, what they do, who they are associated with, their fortunes and scandals make interesting stories. Often these are stories about famous people, such as royalty or heads of state, or famous businessmen.
Crime: Every crime, including road traffic offences, break and enter, robbery, fraud, forgery and murder, is news, but a serious crime or an unusual one usually makes a bigger story. Money: Stories about people’s wealth, school fees, taxes, the Budget, food prices and wage rises are all very newsworthy.
Weather: Changing weather is a news item, and stories about floods, droughts and unusually high or low temperatures are also very interesting. Grain harvests, shortages and gluts, crop diseases, prices of food in the market and the launch of a new brand of beer are all very newsworthy.
Quotations: When writing a news article, it is always helpful to include quotations from the people involved in the story. These should be identified by their full name and occupation.
It is a good idea to set up alerts on your favourite news outlets and political experts to make sure you don’t miss anything. But beware: too much bad news can lead to stress, anxiety, fatigue or sleep loss.
