News is information about current events that affect or interest people. This information is usually conveyed in newspapers, magazines, radio broadcasts or television programs, and the Internet. It may also be distributed by word of mouth, through the postal system or through other electronic means. News articles provide a summary of news events and do not usually contain the author’s opinions or bias. They are often written for a general audience and must be accurate and fair.

News can include stories about wars, political upheaval, natural disasters, accidents, or weather. It can also feature human interest stories, such as those about celebrities, famous athletes, or everyday people doing extraordinary things. It is important that news articles be well written, because they are often read by people who depend on them for their daily information about the world around them.

A news article consists of an opening paragraph (lead) and then follows with a series of facts about the event being reported. A good lead is short, concise and catches the reader’s attention. It should follow Associated Press style guidelines unless the publication specifies something different. The lead is followed by a paragraph with the writer’s byline, which is his or her name. This is to give credit to the person who wrote the story. It is important that the byline be included in order to prevent plagiarism, as if it were not there, the story could be copied and published elsewhere without crediting the original source.

The body of the news story should be inverted pyramid style, starting with the most important information and then moving to the less important. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence that gives an overview of the information in that section of the story. This is important because the reader will know how much information to expect and can decide whether or not he or she will be interested in reading the entire article.

An important point to remember is that a story must be recent in order to be considered newsworthy. It does not do a newspaper any good to report on an event that happened a week ago, as the community has already moved on and is talking about something else.

Whether or not an event is newsworthy depends on many factors, including how important it is to the public and whether or not it is unusual. For example, an insect that has just been found living on a plant that it did not previously inhabit is interesting to scientists, but it is unlikely to be of interest to the general public.

Other things that make a story newsworthy include how it affects the common man, such as changes in the weather or the availability of food. People are also interested in the lives of famous people, and they are particularly interested when these people fall from grace or are involved in scandals. In addition, all societies are concerned about sex, and news stories involving this subject can be very interesting to read.