News is information about current events that is gathered, transmitted and disseminated in a timely manner. This information can be in the form of text, audio or video. It is usually reported from a local, regional or national perspective and can include opinions as well as facts.
A classic definition of news is that it should be unusual, interesting and significant. It should also be about people. However, the concept of what is interesting and significant varies from society to society. For example, something which is quite common in one society may be quite unusual in another – for example a man going to work by bus each day.
It is important for a journalist to set their own opinions and prejudices aside when writing news articles. Allowing this to enter a story is called editorializing. In most forms of news, it is better for the facts to do the talking.
The order in which news stories are presented is also important. All the main points of a story should be included in the first paragraph and then followed by more detailed explanations in subsequent paragraphs. This is called the inverted pyramid model and is based on the idea that most people read news online and in newspapers quickly and do not go past the first few lines of an article.
Knowing the audience for your news articles is also very important. This will dictate the voice and tone of your news article and help you to decide what information is most important for your audience.