News is the information about current events obtained from every moment and everywhere. It is presented in newspapers, magazines, radio or TV or posted on a news Internet site. It should be fast, accurate and objective. It should be presented briefly so that people will read it, clearly so they will understand it and picturesquely so that they will remember it.
Generally speaking, what is newsworthy will vary from society to society. However, it can be predicted that most news will contain a dramatic element and make it clear who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in any given situation.
Most people believe that the primary purpose of news is to inform and educate the audience. This does not exclude entertainment – music and drama programs on radio, cartoons and crosswords in newspapers – but it does mean that news should not be dull.
The actual decisions about what is to be included in the newspaper, on the television news line-up or on a news Internet site are made by the people who work for a particular news organization. They are called editors, news directors or news managers. They sift through the recommendations of reporters, assistant editors and many others and decide what is newsworthy.
They will also decide what to focus on and how much detail is to be given in a particular news story. They will take into consideration factors such as the familiarity of the topic, how quickly it can be explained and what is relevant to a local or national audience.