News is a brief description of events that have happened recently or are relevant and interesting to the public. The definition of news can vary according to culture and context, however, the most widely accepted criteria is that it must be new, unusual, interesting and significant. It should also be factual and unbiased. This type of news is often used by television and radio stations to keep their audiences informed about what is going on around them.
A good news story will capture the audience’s attention and make them want to read more. The best way to do this is to open the piece with a dramatic anecdote or a surprising fact that will grab the reader’s attention. This is known as the lede and it is a crucial part of any news article. It should include the answers to the questions who, what, where, when and why.
There are a number of different types of news stories, including hard news, soft news, in-depth and features. Hard news stories are usually straight reporting on a specific event, for example a fire or a car crash. Soft news stories are often opinion pieces, or they may be interviews with people affected by the event. In-depth news stories are usually based on extensive research on a particular topic. Features are generally a combination of hard and soft news stories.
People are interested in news about famous people – what they do, how they look and what their lives are like. They are also interested in stories about the weather, food and drink, money, work and leisure activities. They want to know what is going on in the world, both locally and internationally. This is why the assassination of Mrs Gandhi was big news, but the death of a man who wakes up, eats breakfast and takes the bus to work does not make the papers.
Another factor that influences the news value of an event is its effect on a large group of people. This is why an election result, or a political crisis, makes the news. It affects a lot of people, which is why it is important to them.
Other factors that influence the news value of an event are its timeliness and magnitude. Timeliness is important because a story will lose its impact if it has already been reported on. It is also important to report on events that are occurring right now. It is not useful for newspapers to report on something that happened a week ago, the community will have moved on by then.
The final factor that influences the news value of an event, and perhaps the most important of all, is how much the information will satisfy an audience’s intended gratifications. This will be a combination of the information’s accuracy and truthfulness, its suitability for the individual’s needs at that time, and the way it is presented. For example, an in-depth news story on the effects of a local disaster will be more satisfying to readers than an overview of the disaster, but not as much as an analysis of its cause.