News is information about something that has recently happened. It is a part of our everyday life, and it is important to keep informed. News can be about a wide variety of things, such as war, crime, disasters, weather, business and sports. It can also be about people or places. Some of this information is public, but other parts of it is private and only known to a small number of people.
News is usually written to inform, educate and entertain. It is often reported in newspapers, magazines and radio. It can also be found on television and the internet. Entertainment is not the main purpose of news though; this can come from other sources – music, drama and cartoons for example. Generally it is important that the news is accurate and reflects reality.
The selection of what is newsworthy can be quite a subjective process. Various theories about this have been put forward. Galtung and Ruge’s model of news values is one such theory. It suggests that stories become newsworthy if they are new, unusual, interesting, significant and about people. It is important to understand your audience when writing news articles. This will help to ensure that the article is relevant and is read by those that are interested in it.
A good tip when writing news articles is to have a backup. This will ensure that if you are unavailable to write an article when it comes in, someone else can take over and get the story published.