News is information about events that are relevant to society and which have the potential to affect it. Historically, newspapers were the main source of news but now it is often found on TV, radio and online. It can be about a political scandal, natural disaster or something more mundane like new shops opening or the weather.
What makes a story newsworthy depends on the society. In some societies, the classic “dog bites man” is newsworthy but in others it might not. It also depends on the magnitude of a story – a huge fire or celebrity divorce is likely to be newsworthy but a small accident is not.
A good piece of news will inform and educate, it should be unbiased but still interesting to read. A good way to check whether a piece of news is biased or not is to consider the organisation that published it. A site that clearly marks opinion columns as such, has a team of professional journalists and takes care to be transparent about its sources and methods is less likely to have a hidden agenda than one which does not.
It is also important to remember that it can be difficult for readers to separate fact from opinion in a news article so try to avoid using emotive language such as brilliant, excellent and outstanding. Instead use objective language such as ‘This equipment was used to study malaria’. This will help readers to make up their own mind about what is happening rather than being influenced by the news writer’s judgement.
