News is a summary of events that occur and are reported in the media, such as television, radio, newspaper or online. The most common topics include war, government, politics, health, education, fashion, sports, and the environment. News has been in circulation since ancient times, with people passing information from one place to another through oral means until the development of writing and printing. The invention of telegraph and then radio and TV allowed news to be broadcast instantly and at a much faster pace than before.
The most important point in a news article is to provide your readers with the facts of the event. The inverted pyramid format (putting the most important facts at the top of the story) is useful when writing for print or on a website. This allows you to grab your reader’s attention and encourage them to keep reading the rest of the article.
When reporting a news article it is helpful to interview primary sources, people involved or close to the topic of your story. These could be experts who can offer technical commentary and analysis or everyday people with a personal insight into the subject. Secondary sources, like press releases and other published articles can also be included in a news report. Always remember to disclose that you are a reporter when interviewing any source.
In order to make an interesting news article you should write about something that is new, exciting or controversial. You should also avoid using cliches and puns as they are not well received by readers and can cause the reader to lose interest.
Generally, it is considered that a story is newsworthy if it has a high impact, involves violence or scandal, includes a known figure or local hero, or is relevant to current affairs. However, what is deemed as newsworthy varies from society to society. For example, a murder in one country may be considered more newsworthy than a murder in another because of differing cultural values.
It is also important to keep in mind that no news source is unbiased. Every person has conscious and unconscious biases that can influence the selection of news stories and how they are reported.
The final point to remember when writing a news article is that it should not contain your own opinions. If you include your opinions in the article, it is no longer an objective news article, but rather a political or social commentary. Including your own opinions can confuse the reader and detract from the overall credibility of the news article.