(1) Defining News

Defining News

(what is news today?)

To my understanding, news is an informative source provided to the public to keep them informed via multiple media outlets such as radio, television, and written formats. Different types of news can help one gain an understanding of what is happening in the world, whether it is good news or bad, exciting or serious. The news could also cover weather forecasts, ongoing crimes, special events, reviews, entertainment, and political opinions.

The definition of news could be condensed into one word - inform. It is the news’ sole purpose to inform the public on current topics they may be unaware of. News helps to bring these matters to light to better comprehend them.

Let us not get confused with news and opinion. To avoid misunderstanding between the two, WSJ (The Wall Street Journal) clarifies news and opinion beautifully by separating the two between a clear line. News is to be reported in an impartial manner while opinion articles may express a particular perspective.

Because news covers a lot of topics in different ways, each topic has its own format of being presented to the media. I like to downsize this and think of it like books. Every storybook has its own genre that it is categorized into, just like a news story, and each genre or type of news has its own distinct definition. 

To grasp an understanding of identifying the many aspects of news is greatly important as a reader as well as a writer. News may include news articles, analysis, and feature reports. Opinion may vary from editorial, opinion stories, and reviews (CSUSM). 

These are the genres that are most commonly associated with both the news and news writing. CSUSM University library goes into greater detail about each subcategory of News and Opinion, but let’s focus more on how News is being developed in the listed categories. 

News Article: 

This text is written to notify readers of the newest findings that address the five w’s (who-what-where-when-why) and how. 

Meadows hearing end without ruling:

This article focuses on the outcomes of Donald Trump's criminal matters, sheds light on the difficulty of Mark Meadows' testimony, and outlines that the first defendant of Fulton County pleaded not guilty in the Georgia election interference case (CNN). 

News Analysis:

In-depth analysis to give readers a fuller understanding of the news. 

The Moment That Matters in the Republican Debate: Jeff Greenfield (Politico writer) penned an article analyzing the Grand Old Party's first presidential debate, broadcasted by FOX News on August 23 (Politico). 

Feature Writing: 

Feature stories are original news pieces that are more focused on creativity than on the way crucial information is presented. 

Google ‘kills’ a popular social media feature for YouTube: YouTube stories, which began in 2017 and enabled users to post short video clips, will conclude on June 26. Any stories posted on this date will no longer be viewable after seven days of their initial release (The Times of India). 

What I would like for you to take out of this is that though 'news' is a broad subject that is heighten by a variety of forms that alone put a spin on how news is perceive, news hold an emotional power that is placed on its readers. News may be beautiful but it can also destroy us in a sense that leads us in feelings such as anger or fear. Yes, it informs us but is also enlighten us in a sense that is more than just intellectual, but in a way that has us craving to know more and form our own opinion and thoughts to why this is happening in the world. 

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