What Is News?

News is current information about events which affect people, such as wars or natural disasters. It also covers politics, government and social affairs, such as laws or public health. In addition, it can cover other things that have a significant effect on people such as changes to the environment or economy. It is the job of journalists to report this information in an interesting way and to make it accessible to readers. This can be done in various ways including television, radio and newspapers.

News has always been important to people because it helps them to keep up with what is going on in the world around them. It is also a way for people to interact with each other and form opinions. People have always shared information with each other through word of mouth, letters and books, but the development of printing, postal systems and later radio and newspaper publishing helped to speed up the transmission of news.

A good news article will begin with a lead which is a short paragraph describing what the story is about and why it is significant. This is usually a dramatic anecdote or a surprising fact. It will also include the answers to the questions who, what, when, where and why. It is important to start with something which will grab the attention of readers as they are often busy and have many other things to do.

After the lead has grabbed the reader’s attention, the main facts about the story will follow in a nut graph, a paragraph which describes what has happened and why it is significant. This should be in chronological order. This is where the news writer will include quotes from sources, give background details and explain how it has happened. The news article should then finish with a concluding paragraph which restates the lead and explains why it is still relevant today.

The information which makes the news is not always interesting to everybody, for example if scientists find an insect living on a plant that it did not previously inhabit, this is very important to scientists but it would only be of passing interest to most other people. However, if this insect was a pest which was eating people’s food crops then it could be of significant concern to people and therefore would be newsworthy.

Some of the most important events in people’s lives are reported as news, such as funerals, births and marriages. However, there is also news about the weather, food and drink, work, sports and entertainment. Many people are interested in the lives of famous people, especially if they are involved in scandal or have an unusual lifestyle. They also like to hear about the latest music, theatre and cinema. In addition, people are interested in stories about their health, such as traditional remedies, hospitals and clinics, diseases, exercise and diet. Sex is an important part of life and is often the subject of news, although in many societies it is not openly discussed.