News is information about current events that have happened or are happening. It can be a major event, such as a war or a terrorist attack, or it can be something small, such as a celebrity scandal or a weather report. News is usually published in newspapers, magazines, radio, television or on the internet. News can also be found in books or from public speakers. People like to read and listen to the news because it tells them what is going on around them. It can also help them decide what to do.
Historically, news has been transmitted from one person to another by word of mouth, but as technology and transport have advanced, it has become easier for people to spread the news themselves. This has had a huge impact on the content of news and how it is presented.
The word ‘news’ is derived from the Latin novem, meaning “new”. People have always been interested in what is new, but the speed at which news can travel and the number of people it can reach has increased dramatically with the development of transport and communication systems.
Different societies have different ideas about what is interesting and important, which can lead to differences in what makes the news. For example, a man catching the bus to work each day does not make news if it is the first time that he has done so; however, if he is 90 years old and still catches the bus every day, this is certainly unusual!
A range of theories have been put forward to explain what makes newsworthy. These include the mirror model, which states that news should reflect reality; the organizational model, which explains that the interests of the media and their shareholders influence what is covered; and the political model, which argues that the political environment influences what is deemed to be important.
Whether or not these models are valid, it is clear that what makes news will differ from culture to culture and over time. For example, the death of Mao Tse-tung was big news in China but not so much in Western countries. It is also true that many things happen all the time, but most of them are not newsworthy. If a man goes to work, walks to the train station and boards it, this is not newsworthy, but if he falls off his bike and dies, that is newsworthy. This is because it is unexpected and therefore interesting. It is also newsworthy because it reflects on the social order.