News is information about events in the world. It can be about war, politics, education, health, the environment or business. It can also be about famous people or strange or unusual occurrences. News is often reported on in newspapers, radio or television and is gathered by journalists working for the media.
One of the most important factors in newsworthiness is timeliness – how recent an event is. This is why large media sources tend to focus on current events.
Unusual events can be newsworthy, but they must also be significant and interesting. For example, if scientists report that an insect has just been found living on a plant that it did not previously inhabit, this is probably very interesting to specialists and enthusiasts but it would only merit a short article in the local paper or on the radio. However, if that insect is an important pest that could destroy crops, this is likely to be very important to the community and would be front-page news.
Stories about money are also often of interest to the public, for example fortunes made and lost, budget cuts, food shortages or high prices. People are interested in the health of themselves and their families and so stories about medical research, hospitals and clinics, diseases, diet and exercise are often newsworthy. People are also interested in the lives of famous people and so stories about them – what they do, how they look and especially when they are involved in scandal – are often newsworthy.