What is the definition of news? A news story is a newsworthy event which is reported or otherwise disseminated for news purposes. In non-ideological parlance, news is considered the “people’s press”. It is also referred to as media, including radio, television, and the internet. It is a term referring to any or all news items which are made available to the public. A person who seeks information on any topic is likely interested in the news.
The purpose of news is to inform and to entertain, both in the newspaper headline and in the news stories themselves. The two goals complement each other. The newspapers are always concerned with maintaining a community tone. As such, it is common for there to be stories concerning crime, accidents, weddings, births, deaths, sports, political figures, and business activities. All these topics create great interest in the people and this interest helps create news stories.
A news story is not a document prepared by some press office or some bureau. A news story is based on facts which are verified by sources. The verification process begins at the time the news is being made, while the document is still in the writing phase. This means that the hard news stories are those which have been confirmed through several sources, usually those other than the one making the news. For example, if there is to be an earthquake, flood, hurricane, or virus outbreak, the first person who should be contacted are the doctors who have been called in. There is no point in spreading false information about an impending disaster when the possibility of it already having occurred is higher than expected.
This is a fact which can be illustrated with another example. If there is to be a strike in a big city, everyone will be rushing to the hospitals and clinics, which creates a shortage of nurses and doctors. The media wants to keep the general public informed so that they can provide help as soon as possible. In this case, the media wants to create news stories about the doctors, nurses, and their assistants.
The goal of a good news story is to make the readers feel something and to gain their support. It does not matter if you are writing about a recent event, a trend, an accident, or something else. A recent event, or a trend, is just that: recent. No matter how serious it is, if it has been going on for several months now, then many people have become fed up with it and are tired of waiting for the end of the trend. People do not like to read long term trends because they simply do not comprehend the hype.
News writing is not an easy job. In fact, many people compare news reporters to taxi drivers. They have to follow the rules of the roads and not drive too fast or stop suddenly. If they get stopped, then the paper has to make sure that their news report is balanced, up to date, and accurate. Writing a good news report is not easy, but is not impossible either.