News is information about events which happen in the world. It is provided by many different media, including printed newspapers, television, radio, and the internet.
The News Manual contains several definitions of the word “news” (see lower links on the right). However, some people have very strong opinions about what is and what is not news.
In general, what is news depends on your own society. In most societies, it will be a very unusual thing when a man bites a dog. It will be very interesting to hear what the archbishop thinks of it, for instance, and it is likely that you will be interested in reading about it if it happens in your country.
Nevertheless, there is one thing that can’t be news: an event that has happened before. For example, the assassination of Mrs Gandhi would not be news if it had been reported by the press several days earlier.
How do journalists decide what is news and what is not? They do it in the same way as everybody else. They judge whether something is more interesting than another, or more significant.
For example, a girl going to university is more interesting than a car killing a chicken or a pig. They also decide how important the story is, for example, how much it affects people in their community.
Most people read news and listen to it on radio and TV. They do this because they want to know what is happening in their community, and they want to keep up with the latest developments. They do this because they have a need to know how their local government, business and school is doing. They do this because they want to learn how the world is changing, and they do it because they want to make sure that their politicians are doing the right things.
