News is a collection of facts about events, situations, people and places. It is usually current and can be sourced from a wide variety of sources, including the internet, newspapers, magazines and radio. The information in a news article can be both positive or negative, but it must always be accurate. The aim of most news articles is to inform, educate and amuse. This can be achieved through music and drama on radio and television and by crosswords or cartoons in newspapers.
The most important factor in determining whether a story is newsworthy is that it should be new. It should also be unusual, interesting and significant. The fact that it is about people makes it more important, and the impact of the event or situation should be considered. It may also be useful to check the timeliness of the story, as this will affect its credibility.
A news story should be concise and well-structured. It should begin with a clear title, and include the date and location of the event. It should then provide a brief summary of the background to the story, and identify key players in it. It should also contain a quotation from someone who is a specialist in the subject.
It is a good idea to use an outline when writing a news article, as this can help you keep the structure of the article consistent. This can be helpful for both the writer and the reader. It can also save time, as it will mean that you don’t have to re-write the article later on. The outline can also help you to ensure that all the relevant points are included in the article, and that it meets its purpose.
In addition to the criteria listed above, there are a number of other factors that can make an event newsworthy. These can include the effect that an event will have on the lives of ordinary people, its impact, the presence of violence or scandal and its familiarity. It is also often newsworthy if it is local to the reader, or if it involves a celebrity.
The most recent news is likely to be the most relevant, but even old news can be a good source of material. For example, a story about the death of Mao Tse-tung was not immediately released to the public by the Chinese government, but it still provided significant and interesting information when it did finally become known.
There are a number of places to find news, from online newspaper sites like Google news and Yahoo news to news aggregators which collect and report stories from a range of sources. These may include wire services, newspaper websites and blogs. There are also a number of databases which hold archived news, such as LexisNexis Academic and Proquest Historical Newspapers.
Some of these databases are free, but others are not. It is a good idea to try out several different sources to see which ones offer the most comprehensive coverage of the topics that interest you.