News is a genre of writing that relays events or information about people, places and things. It can be found in newspapers, magazines and on television and radio. News is generally meant to inform, educate and entertain. This is accomplished through a variety of means, including stories that recap sporting events, dramatize major news and/or provide a forum for public opinion. News articles often feature quotes from people who were involved in the event or are impacted by its outcome.

A journalist’s first task when composing a news article is to gather all the information about the subject he or she will write about. The resulting information will help him or her determine the appropriate level of detail for the article. A basic guideline for news writing is to start with the five Ws: who, what, when, where and why. This is a way to establish the essential aspects of the story, but it is not an exhaustive list.

Other important factors when determining the strength of a news item include its importance and whether or not it is significant to the people who will read or hear about it. Events or situations that are of great importance to the community, such as a natural disaster or a political coup, will usually receive more attention than everyday happenings. However, a coup in the next country over can still be big news if it will have an impact on local politics or businesses.

People are also interested in the impact an event or situation will have on them personally. This is why a human interest angle to a news story is so effective. It can be as simple as telling readers how a certain law will affect them, or it can go as in-depth as revealing how a specific person’s life was changed by an event.

Similarly, a newspaper story may be more interesting to its audience if it is in a different language than what they normally read. This is why there are many foreign language television and radio news operations, such as Univision and NBC’s Telemundo.

Another factor in determining the strength of a news item is its impact on society or human behavior. This can be a positive or negative influence, and can even be humorous. A good example of this is a news story about how a particular celebrity has become more politically active and open in his or her opinions.

While the role of news in a society can vary greatly, most people agree that the primary purpose of all forms of news media – print, radio and television – is to educate their viewers, listeners or readers. Entertainment is often provided by other sources – music and drama on radio, cartoons and crosswords in newspapers and magazines. Despite this, all news media should strive to be accurate and to convey the most pertinent and important facts about any given event or issue. It is also important that a thorough proofread be completed before submitting any news article for publication, so that typos and grammatical errors are caught.