News is information about current events. It may be spread by word of mouth, print media such as newspapers and magazines, broadcasting, or electronic communication. It often carries an opinion or interpretation, but not always. News can be considered either soft or hard, depending on whether it is factual or based on opinion.
When writing a news article it is important to research the topic thoroughly. It is also good to keep in mind what kind of audience you will be targeting. This will help you decide how much detail to include. Once you have a clear understanding of the topic it is time to start writing. It is important to remember that news articles should be concise and easy to read. It is also good practice to have an editor read the article before submitting it for publication. This will help ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
A good news story must meet five criteria: it must be new, unusual, interesting, significant and about people. The more of these criteria a story meets, the better. A coup d’etat in the next door country might meet all of these criteria, but a fire at a restaurant might not. The most important facts should be presented in the first paragraph – in journalism school this is called the inverted pyramid – and then the rest of the article expands on these points. It is important to remember that the job of a news writer is to inform and educate the reader, listener or viewer. It is not the job to entertain them – that comes from other sources, such as music and drama on radio or TV, or crosswords and cartoons in newspapers.