News is an event or situation which occurs in the present, or relates to something that has occurred recently. It is generally about the things that are significant or unusual, and which have a public interest. Events that are common or usual don’t usually make the news. For example, a dog biting a man is not news, but a robbery at a convenience store does make the news. It is important for a news story to have an element of drama. This means that the event must have clearly identified good and bad characters. It is also important for the news story to have a time frame, so that people can understand when the event took place and how long it lasted.
It is important to keep in mind that the main purpose of News is to inform and educate readers, listeners or viewers. The entertainment that is provided by News comes from other areas, such as music and drama on television or radio or crossword puzzles in newspapers.
In a news article, the lead is the most important paragraph. It must catch the reader’s attention and give them a preview of what is to come in the rest of the article. The lead may use a question, statement or quote that is relevant to the topic of the article. Once the basic facts are given, follow up with additional information that will help the reader to gain a better understanding of the subject, such as contact information, statistics and quotes from interviews.