News

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News is essentially new information or current events. This article discusses news in the context of journalism.

News is reported by newspapers, television and radio programs, Web sites, RSS feeds and wire services. News reporting is a type of journalism, typically written or broadcast in news style. Most news is investigated and presented by journalists (or reporters) and often distributed via news agencies. If the content of news is significant enough, it eventually becomes history.

To be considered newsworthy, an event usually must have broad interest due to one or more news values:

Impact (how many people were, are or will be affected?)
Timeliness (did the event occur very recently?)
Revelation (is there significant new information, previously unknown?)
Proximity (was the event nearby geographically?)
Oddity (was the event highly unusual?)
Entertainment (does it make for a fun story?)
Celebrity (was anyone famous involved?)

News items and journalism can be divided in various ways, although there are gray areas. Distinctions include that between hard news (more serious and timely topics) and soft news (usually lighter topics); breaking news (most immediate); news analysis; and enterprise or investigative reporting.

News coverage often includes the "five W's and the H"—who, what, where, when, why, and how.

In democracies, news organizations are often expected to aim for objectivity: Reporters cover both sides in a controversy and try to eliminate bias. This is not true of all organizations in all cultures. For instance, British television news is required to be objective, but the newspapers are expected to have a point of view. However, limits are set by the government agency Ofcom, the Office of Communications. The United Kingdom has stricter libel laws than the United States for the press. In contrast, both newspapers and broadcast news programs in the United States are generally expected to remain neutral and avoid bias except for clearly indicated editorial articles or segments.

Many single-party countries have operated state-run news organizations, which may present the government's views. Even in those situations where objectivity is expected, it is difficult to achieve, and individual journalists may fall foul of their own personal bias, or succumb to commercial or political pressures. Individuals and organizations who are the subject of news reports may use news management techniques to try to make a favourable impression.

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Etymology

The word "news" comes from a special use of the plural of the word "new", and not as the common backronym claims, from the four cardinal directions (North, East, West, and South). Old spellings of the word varied widely—newesse, newis, nevis, neus, newys, niewes, newis, nues, etc.—which casts doubt on this popular etymological theory.

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