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One theory is that "news" was developed as a special use of the plural form
of "new" in the 14th century. In Middle English, the equivalent word was newes,
based on the French nouvelles.
Another theory is that the word, phonetically and its written style, is based
upon the Germanic word "neues".
A folk etymology suggests that it is an acronym of the cardinal directions:
north, east, west, and south.
Reporting of news
News reporting is a type of journalism, typically written or broadcast in news
style. News is often reported by a variety of sources, such as newspapers,
television, and radio programs, wire services, and web sites. Most news is
investigated and presented by journalists and can be distributed to various
outlets via news agencies.The reporting and investigation of news falls within
the profession of journalism.
Categories of news
Until the 1970s, when women's lib issues came to the forefront, most newspapers
had a "Women's" section devoted entirely to fashion and society news. Papers
even printed "cheesecake" feature photos of attractive young women in bikinis,
often transmitted by the AP or UPI wire services, illustrating various news
events or feature ideas.
There are many other categories of news. The weather is typically presented by a
certified meteorologist or, on smaller stations, a less-trained "weatherman" and
is considered news.
Some other news categories are:
* murders
* robberies
* sports
* fashion
* society
* business
* cartoon strips
* features
* lottery numbers
* lives of celebrities
* advertising
History of news reporting
In its infancy, news gathering was primitive by today's standards. Printed news
had to be phoned in to a newsroom or brought there by a reporter, where it was
typed and either transmitted over wire services or edited and manually set in
type along with other news stories for a specific edition. Today, the term
"Breaking News" has become trite as broadcast and cable news services use live
satellite technology to bring current events into consumers' homes live as they
happen. Events that used to take hours or days to become common knowledge in
towns or in nations are fed instantaneously to consumers via radio, television,
cell phones, and the Internet.
Newspapers
Most large cities had[citation needed] morning and afternoon newspapers. As the
media evolved and news outlets increased to the point of near over-saturation,
afternoon newspapers were shut down except for relatively few. Morning
newspapers have been gradually losing circulation, according to reports advanced
by the papers themselves.[citation needed]
Commonly, news content should contain the "Five Ws" (who, what, when, where,
why, and also how) of an event. There should be no questions remaining.
Newspapers normally write hard news stories, such as those pertaining to
murders, fires, wars, etc. in inverted pyramid style so the most important
information is at the beginning. Busy readers can read as little or as much as
they desire. Local stations and networks with a set format must take news
stories and break them down into the most important aspects due to time
constraints. Cable news channels such as Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and CNN, are
able to take advantage of a story, sacrificing other, decidedly less important
stories, and giving as much detail about breaking news as possible.
Objectivity in news
News organizations are often expected to aim for objectivity; reporters claim to
try to cover all sides of an issue without bias, as compared to commentators or
analysts, who provide opinion or personal point-of-view. However, several
governments impose certain constraints or police news organizations for bias. In
the United Kingdom, for example, limits are set by the government agency Ofcom,
the Office of Communications. 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 governments
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 pressure. Similarly, the objectivity of news
organizations owned by conglomerated corporations fairly may be questioned, in
light of the natural incentive for such groups to report news in a manner
intended to advance the conglomerate's financial interests. Individuals and
organizations who are the subject of news reports may use news management
techniques to try to make a favourable impression.[citation needed] Because no
human being can remain entirely objective (each of us has a particular point of
view), it is recognized that there can be no absolute objectivity in news
reporting.[citation needed]
Newsworthiness
Newsworthiness is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance to the public
or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.
Normal people are not newsworthy unless they meet an unusual circumstance or
tragedy. The news divides the population into two groups; those few whose lives
are newsworthy, and the multitude who are born, live out their lives and die
without the news media paying them any significant notice. The news has always
covered subjects that catch people's attention and differ from their "ordinary
lives". The news is often used for escapism and thus normal events are not
newsworthy. Whether the subject is love, birth, weather, or crime, journalists'
tastes inevitably run toward the unnatural, the extraordinary.
The subject and newsworthiness of a story depends on the audience, as they
decide what they do and do not have an interest in. The denser the population,
the more global the news becomes, as there is a broader range of interests
involved in its selection.
Only a fraction of news manage to convey the overall world development.
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