News is information about current events. It is disseminated by many means, including word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting and electronic communication. In the simplest terms, it is the information that people need in order to participate in society and make decisions about their lives.
In most societies, news is primarily about people and their activities. However, this does not exclude natural and environmental events. Cyclones, bush fires, droughts, floods and volcanic eruptions are all newsworthy events. It is also newsworthy when prominent people make decisions or do things which contradict their public image. For example, a celebrity who loses a lot of money or is involved in a car crash makes headlines.
People’s opinions about and reactions to these events are also newsworthy. In fact, these are often the most interesting parts of a news story. Likewise, when a government or organisation does something controversial, this is usually a major news item.
It is not always possible to report all the facts of a particular event, so it is important to choose which facts are significant. A good way to do this is to follow the inverted pyramid principle, putting the most important details at the start of the article. It is also useful to provide additional facts and quotes from interviews which give the reader more insight into a subject.
It is important to read lots of different sources of news, even if you find some of them difficult to understand. This will stop news reading from becoming a chore and give you a more rounded view of what is happening in the world.