News is information about events that have happened recently or are of interest to a broad audience. It covers a wide range of subjects including politics, crime, education, health and the environment as well as business, fashion, celebrity and entertainment. News articles should be factually correct and contain a certain amount of intrigue in order to engage the reader. In addition, they should be well written and easy to understand.
In deciding what constitutes news, some of the criteria used are :
Exclusivity: stories which are generated by, or available first to, the newspaper through interviews, letters, surveys, investigations and polls. Magnitude: stories that are thought to be sufficiently significant either in terms of people involved or their potential impact.
Interest: stories that are of particular interest to the reader, for example a man who wakes up and goes to work on a bus does not make news but if that same man suddenly becomes 90 years old and continues to catch buses he might!
A key factor in deciding what is newsworthy is knowing your demographic. Most newspapers and news websites have a target demographic which they aim to appeal to, for example if you are writing about zoning laws in Kansas City you might be writing for realtors and property owners. However, if you are a major news site you may cover topics all over the world and have a much wider audience. Having this knowledge allows you to tailor your news articles to suit the needs of your audience.