A news story is a written account of a recent or current event. It is usually about something important or interesting, and it has the potential to influence people’s lives in some way. It also has to be timely, so that people will know about it as soon as possible.
News is not only about what happens in the world; it is also about how and why things happen. This includes the actions of people and groups, but can also include the effects of natural events. The classic example of this is a hurricane or a bush fire. The news may also contain information about politics, war, business, fashion, celebrity, crime and sport. It can even include the details of royal ceremonies, laws, taxes and public health issues.
It is important that a news article is unbiased, and does not include the opinion of the writer or the paper. This is because it can cause problems for the credibility of the newspaper, especially if the opinion does not align with the majority view. However, the writer will need to make some judgments about what is important and what is not. For example, it is not likely that many people will be interested in an insect eating a plant that it did not previously inhabit; this would only be of interest to scientists. On the other hand, if this insect is a pest that is threatening the farmers’ food supply, then it becomes newsworthy.
The news is also determined by what is significant in a society and what is unusual. This is why an archbishop’s views on women priests would be newsworthy, whereas the opinions of the peasant farmer on the issue are unlikely to be.
An important part of the process of writing a news article is finding out what is significant to your readers. You can do this by asking them, either directly or via polling. Alternatively, you can interview the people involved and get their quotes for the article. In this way, you can add more detail and interest to the story.
Once you have the five Ws (who, what, where, when and why) for your news article, you can begin to write it. Try to keep the story short, so that it will be read, and ensure that any quotations are attributed to their source.
Lastly, proofread the article carefully to check that it is accurate and factual. Once you have done this, it is ready to be published. In an age of 24-hour news stations, people can see lots of different news stories every day, so if yours is not clear and concise, it may be ignored. On the other hand, if it is well-written and contains information that will be of interest to your audience, then it may be read and remembered. It could even become a piece of history.
