News is information about current events that affect people. It can be delivered in many formats – magazines, newspapers, radio and television. People read, listen to and watch News because it helps them stay informed about their world and make sense of it. News can also entertain. This is not the main job of the media, which is to educate and inform, but it can be done in a fun way (dramas on TV, music on the radio, crossword puzzles in newspapers). People need to stay aware of what is happening in their communities so that they can contribute to discussion about it. They also need to be able to recognise when government decisions are likely to influence them.
People need to be able to live within their means and avoid debt. This is why the economy and business news is important. They need to know about new jobs and opportunities, price rises, interest rates, taxation changes and the state of the economy overall.
Governments have a lot to do and they need to communicate with their citizens. So government proclamations, concerning royal ceremonies, laws, taxes, and public health are important News. It is also good to be able to keep up with the world’s politics, including which countries are at war, and who are their leaders.
Some of the most interesting News is that which affects us directly, such as fires, floods, or terrorist attacks. But News can also be about something that has happened a long time ago, such as a famous person’s death or the results of an election.
Often the first reports of an event are incomplete, but they give people a sense of what is happening and a start to develop an understanding of it. As more information becomes available, the story may change, or perhaps even be discarded completely. Then the next version of the story may be written with the updated facts.
News is very difficult to be objective about, but a good journalist should be able to separate their own prejudices from the facts and present them as impartially as possible. The best way to do this is to use a variety of sources and not just one newspaper or television station. Online news aggregators, such as Google News, are very useful because they combine articles from multiple sources and use algorithms to remove human bias.
The content of a News story can be influenced by its subject matter, the location and culture of the readers or viewers, the time period and the style of the news outlet. It can also be influenced by how exciting, dramatic or controversial the topic is, or whether it is being covered for political gain.
Some of the most reliable News comes from specialised publications, such as the Christian Science Monitor, which was founded in 1907 to counteract the sensationalised press of that period. It remains highly respected and is regarded as one of the most unbiased News outlets around.