News is information about events that have recently occurred, are occurring now or will occur in the future. It can cover a wide variety of topics, from politics to war and sports to natural disasters. When writing a news story, it is important to keep in mind the intended audience, because different groups of people are interested in different types of news.
The first part of a news article should grab the reader’s attention by being interesting, dramatic or surprising. This is often accomplished by using a dramatic anecdote or a fact that stands out from the rest of the article. The next part of the article, called the nut graph, should explain what the story is about and why it’s important to readers. This can be done in one paragraph or several paragraphs and should answer the questions who, what, when, where and why. Including some background information or history about the topic can also help put the current development into context.
A good news article should include facts, not opinions. However, if the writer does have an opinion, it should be presented as just that: an opinion. A well written article should give enough detail that the reader can form his or her own opinion about what happened, even if it differs from the author’s opinion.
News stories should be interesting, significant or unusual and be about people. But just because something is new and interesting does not mean that it will automatically make the news. For example, if an insect has never been seen before in an area where it lives, this would be newsworthy, but if the same insect is found living on a plant that it did not previously inhabit, it will probably not.
In addition to straight reporting, there are also in-depth news stories which go more into the details of a particular subject matter and may involve extensive research. A good example is a news feature on the impact of a recent fire in a neighborhood. These kinds of stories usually take more time to write and are typically read by people who are very interested in the subject matter, such as residents of the affected neighborhood.
It is generally accepted that a democracy cannot survive without a free press. The role of the press in a democracy is to provide citizens with the information they need to be informed voters, participants and critics in public affairs. This role is increasingly being filled by local media, specialized news outlets and online news aggregators. These outlets are attempting to fill the gap left by the disappearance of large, traditional print and broadcast media in many areas. The evolution of these new forms of media has been driven by the need for democracy to survive in a rapidly changing world. These changes have been accelerated by globalization, technological advancements and increased competition between traditional, established media and new online and specialized sources of news.