How News Is Created and Delivered
News is an important part of society, and many people are interested in the latest developments. Newspapers, television, radio and the Internet are all popular sources of information. Regardless of which media you read, the main goal is to be informed about what is going on in your community and around the world.
Choosing the Right Stories
The information that makes it into a newspaper, onto a TV news line-up or posted on a news Internet site is the decision of someone called an editor or a news director or even a news manager. This person takes recommendations from reporters, assistant editors and others in their organization.
These are the gatekeepers who make the decisions about what will become the news, and they often use a variety of criteria when making these decisions. Some of these criteria include:
Timeliness: A story has to be timely, which means it needs to occur at a particular time or otherwise happen at some point in the future. It must also be relevant to the audience and have a high potential to generate news coverage (such as breaking news, sports stories or celebrity events).
Drama: A story has to be dramatic, which is when it tells of an event that has caused great emotion in the public. This can include a crime or an illness, an accident, or a political scandal. It could also be a story that deals with a person’s desires or accomplishments, such as winning a gold medal at the Olympics, or a story that is based on a true event.
Consequence: A story has to have a positive or negative impact on the public, such as a crime, an accident or the death of someone. It also needs to have a strong narrative, which is when it tells of a person’s experiences or events in a way that provides context and meaning.
Using Data: A news piece is often created around data, such as a number of spreadsheets that show how well a company does. This helps to create a more visual and interesting way for readers to learn about the business and its progress.
Opinion: Another type of news is an opinionated story, which reflects a writer’s personal view on a topic. These are usually a great supplement to traditional news outlets, as they provide additional insight into a subject and keep the article fresh.
It is important to remember that there are many different opinions on a given subject, so it’s best to stick with a few credible sources to get a balanced view of the issue. You can do this by reading multiple publications, setting up Google alerts for news on a topic you’re interested in, or using a news aggregator to collect the latest news on a subject in one place.