News is information about current events that is conveyed to the public quickly and objectively. It is the oxygen of democracy; without it, democracies cannot survive.
In order to be considered news, something must be interesting or significant. People are interested in things that are unusual, so if the weather is extreme or something unexpected happens like a robbery at a convenience store, this makes good news.
People also like stories that are dramatic and have clearly identifiable good and bad characters. A robbery that is caught on camera at a convenience store makes a great story because it is dramatic and because the robbers are usually identified as the bad guys.
Finally, many people are interested in famous people and their lives so stories about the activities of celebrities make good news. This is especially true if their behaviour goes against society’s generally accepted standards, such as when they fall out of favour or lose money. Health is another topic that regularly features in the news, with people being interested in stories about hospitals and clinics, diseases and traditional remedies. The economy and food are also frequently featured in the news with people being interested in the price of goods, availability of foods and crops, harvest sizes, and famines and droughts.
All of these characteristics are what makes news, and they are all reflected in the types of stories that people read in newspapers, watch on TV or radio, listen to on the radio or find online. This is why it is important to try and get your news from a variety of sources, so that you can get a broad spectrum of opinions about what’s happening in the world around you.