Traditionally, news has been considered the oxygen of democracy. It is the media’s responsibility to deliver reliable and accurate information. Without a well-informed citizenry, a free press is impossible.
In this first article of the series on media development, we’ll look at what news is and how it helps people. We’ll also look at the news-making process, from a media perspective.
The first step in understanding news is to define it. A news story is an event that is reported in a variety of formats. It can be old or new. It can be local or international. It can be a story about human interest or about a political issue.
In addition to these categories, there are also categories of entertainment stories. Some examples of entertainment stories are showbusiness, human interest stories, sex, witty headlines, and humorous treatment.
A good news story is one that has positive overtones. Some stories are also considered “bad news,” with negative overtones.
Newsworthy events are those that attract public interest. Examples of newsworthy events include hurricane Katrina and the Boston Marathon bombings.
The newsworthiness of certain issues is still debated. Some issues are newsworthy because they are controversial or because people want to know about them.
There are two major types of news sources: hard and soft. Hard news tends to be factual, while soft news is less factual. Some news sources are good for historical news, while others are great for breaking news.
