A news article is an account of a recent event or development. They inform and educate readers about important current issues/events and can be written for a variety of purposes. As we all know, the world around us is constantly changing and news articles are a way of staying informed about those changes. However, with a barrage of breaking news updates appearing daily and both legitimate and dubious news sources proliferating on the internet, it can be hard to discern what is actually happening. Having a strategy for assessing your news needs and finding trusted sources will help you stay informed as you move through the day.
The most common subject for a news article is human events. These can range from war to political upheavals to celebrity deaths and beyond. However, there are other things that can also be newsworthy. Weather changes, for example, can be of interest if they affect the everyday lives of people. Crop diseases or food shortages or gluts are of concern if they will have an impact on our food supply. Likewise, the discovery of new medicines or vaccines can be significant.
Often, what is considered to be newsworthy will vary from society to society. If a bug is eating its way through a farmer’s harvest then this will be of concern to them, but it may not be of concern to someone in a city. It is this difference in what is considered to be important that will affect the content of a news story.
When deciding on a topic to write about it is worth bearing in mind that a good news article will answer the questions: ‘What, when, who, where and why?’ Then you will need to consider where your article will be published (newspaper, magazine, online).
It is always worth examining the source of information that you are relying on. If it comes from an anonymous source or seems too melodramatic or over-blown, you should be suspicious. It is a relatively easy thing for bad information to spread, so be sure to check the validity of claims made by sharing social media posts or forwarding emails. A good way to do this is by looking at the website of the organisation that the information is sourced from. This will usually include details of their mission, ethics and principles. It will also list members of their leadership team, and you can then assess whether the information is backed up by their credentials. Similarly, you can also look at other independent sources of information that have been fact-checked and verified by experts in the field. This will provide you with a balanced view of the topic that you are researching. You should always be open to hearing other points of view. This can be a vital part of understanding complex and controversial topics.