2.1 What is News?

News is made up of stories considered “interesting, important or unusual enough to be newsworthy” (Harcup, 2014, para. 1). It usually covers important events happening locally (in a specific town or city), nationally (in a specific country) and internationally (around the world). Historically, news has appeared in various mediums including print, television, radio, search engines and social media. The news industry recounts the things that are happening at a specific time in a formal way to a targeted audience, usually by geographical location (Chandler & Munday, 2020). This activity involves many professionals who gather, put together and distribute information–including reporters, journalists, correspondents, printers, editors and more.

In almost all societies, news is available in some form and is widely considered to be made up of truthful and accurate information (Vos, 2018). People expect news sources to provide a balanced overview of the stories presented (Harcup, 2014; Vos, 2018; Chandler & Munday, 2020). A balanced approach considers multiple sides of a story and presents more facts than opinions. The complex nature of the news and media industries showcase the need for people to read with caution, ask questions, and dig deeper. When an individual comes across an interesting news story, they should ask: why should I trust this source? One way to identify a trustworthy news source is to examine its journalistic and editorial standards. If an online news source doesn’t have either – ditch it.