A news article is an account of current events, usually with a view to informing or entertaining the reader. It contains factual information and quotes from people involved in the event, and should not contain the writer’s opinions. A well written news article should be clear and concise, using the inverted pyramid format to list the most important facts first, followed by further details and supplementary information.
The most important criteria in judging the strength of a story is whether it is new, unusual, interesting and significant. However, what is considered newsworthy can differ greatly from one society to another. A man waking up, eating breakfast and going to work on the bus might be considered newsworthy in some societies but not others, because it is common and ordinary and therefore not exciting or significant enough.
Other elements in determining the newsworthiness of an item include its’magnitude’,’relatability’ and ‘exclusivity’. Magnitude is about the scale of the event; a robbery in a large city would be more newsworthy than a burglary in a small village. Relatability refers to the extent to which the story is of interest to the audience, for example it might be considered newsworthy because it is relevant to the reader’s own circumstances or because it involves someone known to them. Exclusivity refers to the degree to which the story is exclusive to a particular newspaper or news source; for example a scoop about an investigation or a secret is likely to be considered newsworthy.
In addition, a good news story must be presented with clarity, conciseness and picturesqueness. This is especially important in an age of information overload, when the number of sources from which people can obtain news has increased significantly. In the past, newspapers were often the only source of information, and their presentation was therefore of great importance. Now, with the advent of digital technology, it is possible to get news from many different sources on a variety of devices.
As a result, the demand for good quality journalism has never been higher. This is reflected in the increasing popularity of blogs, online journalism and social media outlets that aggregate and report on news from all around the world. In the United States, for instance, a survey in 2021 found that a majority of Americans (82%) said that they often or sometimes got their news on digital devices. This was compared with 51% who reported getting their news on TV. The survey also found that younger generations were more likely to use digital devices for their news, with the percentage rising for each decade of age. This trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. However, the survey also found that print is still a strong and important medium for distributing news. This is because many people prefer to read printed newspapers and magazines, which give them more in-depth information on a subject. Print media also has the advantage of being able to provide the reader with more photos and illustrations than electronic sources can.