What Is News?

What is news?

It's a question that despite seeming to have an obvious answer isn't so easy to give a clear definition.

There are several answers.

It is relevant. It is information. It is fear. It is current. It is fact. It is opinion. It is politics, culture and sport. It is a part of every day life.

All of the above answers are correct in some form but do not define news perfectly.

News is about people doing things - it's action. It's not about the way someone feels so much or what someone thinks, it's what they do. We don't care about buildings, institutions or authority, we care about how what they do affects the people.

Roughly, there are two different sections of news; hard news and soft news.

Hard news is stories like corruption in politics and natural disasters. Many people think relate hard news to broadsheet newspapers, such as The Daily Telegraph and The Times, however, it is evident in other newspapers too. For instance, below is an a double page spread in today's (Thursday 1st November) Daily Star.

Despite being in the Daily Star, it is still hard hitting news as it is a DPS about America's latest natural disaster, hurricane Sandy.

Soft is news the opposite. For example, stories about animals or entertainment reviews. Soft news is always quite light-hearted. These articles are found in all different kinds of publications; broadsheets, tabloids, magazines and internet sites. Although soft news is in most publications, it is more frequent in some than others.

There are several different editorial reasons that stories are published:

• Availability - pictures, videos, content aren't always easy to get. A story may be good but if you can't get enough good quality content then it may not be a good idea to run it.
• Quotes - an editor will want someone saying they saw it, it's not enough just to say it happened. Quotes add colour to the story. If the journalist had the opinion, they'd have to research it because it needs to 100% factual - that's why they interview people, the opinion is in the quote.
• Relativity - it has to be relative for your audience. C2DE's get most of their information from television - Big Brother, drunk celebrities, The Only Way Is Essex etc - so if they're the target audience, it needs to be similar.

There are a couple of things that are important as a journalist if you're trying to sell your story to an editor.

Firstly, you'll have to understand your editor. His/her likes and dislike, political leanings, interests and more. If you're editor has the complete opposite view to the one you're writing, you're less likely to have it published.

The article will also have to be balanced if it's news. It can't be biased and has to show both sides of the story. Remember, if it's news, the writer isn't allowed to have an opinion, opinion can only be showed through quotations of others.

Lastly, you have to be able to explain your story in one sentence. In a news meeting, you'll have around 30 seconds to explain your story, why it should be you that should do, how you're going to do it, why you're going to do it and where you're going to obtain your news. 

There are three main ways of obtaining news:

• Press releases. Every newspaper will be continually sent press releases. Normally, they're not the most interesting source of news but sometimes they are.
• Tip offs. These can only happen if you talk to really people - you need to know people that know things. This is why having a contact book is so important, everyone knows that journalism is largely about who you know, as well as what you know.
• Leaks. They are unofficial but are okay to publish as long as you research it and you know that it is 100% true. Ensure when you're writing the article that you don't say you've got the leaked document, say you've seen it. An excuse continually used by journalist is 'I found it in a skip/on a train/in the back of a taxi.'

A vital unwritten rule in journalism is never give up your source. No matter what happens or who ask, it is crucial you never give up your source. As soon as you do, you may as well get another job because you'll be dead in the industry. No one will want to work with you and no one will ever give you information again.