News is information about events, occurrences or things that happen. It is usually published by media organisations, but may be written or broadcast by anyone.
News can be global or local, and can be current or historical. People want to hear about important things, which is why they read and watch news. News is also useful in a business context as it provides a way for companies to keep their staff and customers informed about important happenings within the organisation.
Often, news is about people. This includes celebrity deaths, political scandals, terrorist attacks, wars and civil unrest. Other things that make news are weather conditions, food shortages and harvest sizes, and prices of goods and services. Events of interest to the general public, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and bush fires, also make news.
It is important to remember that not everything that happens is newsworthy. For example, a man waking up, eating breakfast and catching the bus to work is not newsworthy. If the man was 90 years old, however, and he had never done this before, then it would be newsworthy.
A good rule of thumb is to always have someone else read what you have written before submitting it for publication. That extra pair of eyes will help you to find any mistakes and to ensure that the information that you are presenting is complete and accurate. Also, you should try to write about the most interesting news first – this is called ‘above the fold’ in newspapers, where the top stories are visible before readers have to turn the page or scroll down on their screen.