News is a brief report on something that is happening or has happened. It often comes from a newspaper or magazine, but can also come from radio or TV news reports or even the Internet. The main purpose of news is to inform and educate the reader, listener or viewer. However, it can also provide entertainment – music and drama programmes on radio; crossword puzzles in newspapers, etc.
The best way to write a news article is to know your audience. Asking the questions: what age group are you writing for, where do they live and why are they reading the news will help to shape your article and make it unique.
Remember to include key facts and dates in your story. This will give your article a sense of timeliness. Also, try to follow the ‘inverted pyramid’ approach by placing the most important information at the beginning of your article. This will encourage your readers to keep reading.
Stories about crime, such as robberies, murders, car thefts and rapes are newsworthy. Likewise, stories about health problems like cancer and heart disease are important news items. Stories about money, such as fortunes made or lost, tax rises, the budget and food prices are also interesting to the public. Also, unusual events like weather disasters, heatwaves or frost are newsworthy and attract a lot of attention. It is also good to check that the headline of your news item matches reality as many people only skim the headlines of articles to decide whether or not to read them.