News
is the communication of selected
[1]
information
on current events. It is
shared
in various ways: among individuals and small groups (such as by
word of mouth
or
newsletters
); with wider audiences (such as by
publishing
, either
in print
or
online
, or
broadcasting
, such as on
television
or
radio
); or in ways that blend those traits (such as when
social media
sharing starts among individuals but
goes viral
).
Etymology
[
edit
]
The
English
word "news" developed in the 14th century as a special use of the plural form of "new".
[2]
In
Middle English
, the equivalent word was
newes
, like the French
nouvelles
and the German
neues
. Similar developments are found in the
Slavic languages
?the
Czech
and
Slovak
noviny
(from
novy
, "new"), the
cognate
Polish
nowiny
and
Russian
novosti
?and in the
Celtic languages
: the
Welsh
newyddion
(from
newydd
) and the
Cornish
nowodhow
(from
nowydh
).
History
[
edit
]
Before the invention of newspapers in the early 17th century, official government bulletins and
edicts
were circulated at times in some centralized empires.
[3]
The first documented use of an organized
courier
service for the diffusion of written documents is in
Egypt
, where
Pharaohs
used couriers for the diffusion of their decrees in the territory of the State (2400 BC).
[4]
This practice almost certainly has roots in the much older practice of oral messaging and may have been built on a pre-existing infrastructure.
In
Ancient Rome
,
Acta Diurna
, or government announcement bulletins, were made public by
Julius Caesar
. They were carved in metal or stone and posted in public places.
In
China
, early government-produced news sheets, called
tipao
, circulated among court officials during the late
Han dynasty
(second and third centuries AD). Between 713 and 734, the
Kaiyuan Za Bao
("Bulletin of the Court") of the Chinese
Tang Dynasty
published government news; it was handwritten on silk and read by government officials. In 1582 there was the first reference to privately published newssheets in
Beijing
, during the late
Ming Dynasty
.
[5]
In
Early modern Europe
, increased cross-border interaction created a rising need for information which was met by concise handwritten newssheets. In 1556, the government of
Venice
first published the monthly
Notizie scritte
, which cost one
gazetta
.
[6]
These
avvisi
were handwritten newsletters and used to convey political, military, and economic news quickly and efficiently to Italian cities (1500?1700)?sharing some characteristics of
newspapers
though usually not considered true newspapers.
[7]
Due to low literacy rates, news was at times disseminated by
town criers
.
Relation aller Furnemmen und gedenckwurdigen Historien
, from 1605, is recognized as the world's first newspaper.
[8]
The oldest
news agency
is the
Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
[9]
It was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and
advertising agent
,
Charles-Louis Havas
as
Agence Havas
.
In modern times, printed news had to be phoned into a newsroom or brought there by a
reporter
, where it was typed and either transmitted over wire services or
edited
and manually
set in type
along with other news stories for a specific edition. Today, the term "
breaking news
" has become trite as
commercial broadcasting
United States cable news
services that are available
24-hours
a day use live
satellite
technology to bring current events into
consumers
' homes as the event occurs. Events that used to take hours or days to become common knowledge in towns or in nations are fed instantaneously to consumers via
radio
,
television
,
mobile phone
, and the
Internet
.
Forms of news
[
edit
]
Newspaper
[
edit
]
Most large cities in the United States historically had morning and afternoon newspapers. As the media evolved and news outlets increased to the point of near oversaturation, most afternoon newspapers were shut down. Morning newspapers have been gradually losing circulation, according to reports advanced by the papers themselves.
Commonly, news content should contain the "
Five Ws
" (who, what, when, where, why, and also how) of an event. There should be no questions remaining. Newspapers normally place hard news stories on the first pages, so the most important information is at the beginning. Busy readers can read as little or as much as they desire. Local stations and networks with a set format must take news stories and break them down into the most important aspects due to time constraints. Cable news channels such as
BBC News
,
Fox News
,
MSNBC
, and
CNN
, are able to take advantage of a story, sacrificing other, decidedly less important stories, and giving as much detail about breaking news as possible.
[
citation needed
]
News organizations
are often expected to aim for
objectivity
; reporters claim to try to cover all sides of an issue without bias, as compared to commentators or analysts, who provide
opinion
or personal point of vi.
[10]
Several governments impose certain constraints or police news organizations against bias. In the
United Kingdom
, for example, limits are set by the government agency
Ofcom
, the Office of Communications. Both newspapers and broadcast news programs in the
United States
are generally expected to remain neutral and avoid bias except for clearly indicated editorial articles or segments. Many single-party governments have operated state-run news organizations, which may present the government's views.
Even in those situations where objectivity is expected, it is difficult to achieve, and individual journalists may fall foul of their own personal bias, or succumb to commercial or political pressure. Similarly, the objectivity of news organizations owned by conglomerated corporations fairly may be questioned, in light of the natural incentive for such groups to report news in a manner intended to advance the conglomerate's financial interests. Individuals and organizations who are the subject of news reports may use
news management
techniques to try to make a favourable impression.
[11]
Because each individual has a particular point of view, it is recognized that there can be no absolute objectivity in news reporting.
[12]
Online journalism
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
November 2012
)
|
Online journalism
is news that is reported on the
Internet
. News can be delivered more quickly through this method of news. A common type of internet journalism is called blogging, which is a service of persistently written articles uploaded and written by one or more individuals.
Newsworthiness
[
edit
]
Newsworthiness is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance to the public or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.
[13]
In some countries and at some points in history, what news media and the public have considered "newsworthy" has met different definitions, such as the notion of
news values
.
[14]
For example, mid-twentieth-century news reporting in the United States focused on political and local issues with important socio-economic impacts, such as the landing of a living person on the moon or the cold war. More recently, the focus similarly remains on political and local issues; however, the news
mass media
now comes under criticism for over-emphasis on "non-news" and "gossip" such as celebrities' personal social issues, local issues of little merit, as well as biased sensationalism of political topics such as terrorism and the economy. The dominance of celebrity and social news, the blurring of the boundary between news and reality shows and other popular culture, and the advent of citizen journalism may suggest that the nature of 'news' and news values are evolving and that traditional models of the news process are now only partially relevant.
[15]
Newsworthiness does not only depend on the topic, but also the presentation of the topic and the selection of information from that topic.
New ecology of news
[
edit
]
Michael Schudson
, professor at the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
, has said that "[e]verything we thought we once knew about journalism needs to be rethought in the Digital Age."
[16]
Today the work of journalism can be done from anywhere and done well. It requires no more than a reporter and a laptop. In that way, journalistic authority seems to have become more individual- and less institution-based. But does the individual reporter always have to be an actual journalist? Or can journalistic work be done from anywhere and by anyone? These are questions that refer to the core of journalistic practice and the definition of "news" itself. As Schudson has given emphasis to, the answer is not easily found; "the ground journalists walk upon is shaking, and the experience for both those who work in the field and those on the outside studying it is dizzying".
[16]
Schudson has identified the following six specific areas where the ecology of news in his opinion has changed:
- The line between the reader and writer has blurred.
- The distinction among tweet, blog post, Facebook, newspaper story, magazine article, and book has blurred.
- The line between professionals and amateurs has blurred, and a variety of "pro-am" relationships has emerged.
- The boundaries delineating for-profit, public, and non-profit media have blurred, and the cooperation across these models of financing has developed.
- Within commercial news organizations, the line between the news room and the business office has blurred.
- The line between old media and new media has blurred, practically beyond recognition.
[17]
These alterations inevitably have fundamental ramifications for the contemporary ecology of news. "The boundaries of journalism, which just a few years ago seemed relatively clear, and permanent, have become less distinct, and this blurring, while potentially the foundation of progress even as it is the source of risk, has given rise to a new set of journalistic principles and practices",
[18]
Schudson puts it. It is indeed complex, but it seems to be the future.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Shirkey, Clay (2008).
Here Comes Everybody
. Penguin. p. 328.
ISBN
978-1-59420-153-0
.
- ^
"Online Etymology Dictionary"
. Retrieved
7 July
2012
.
- ^
[1]
[
dead link
]
- ^
"United Courier Systems"
. Ucsams.nl
. Retrieved
2012-03-09
.
- ^
Brook, Timothy
. (1998).
The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China
. Berkeley:
University of California Press
.
ISBN
0-520-22154-0
(Paperback). p. xxi.
- ^
Wan-Press.org
, A Newspaper Timeline,
World Association of Newspapers
- ^
Infelise, Mario. "Roman Avvisi: Information and Politics in the Seventeenth Century." Court and Politics in Papal Rome, 1492?1700. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
, 2002. 212, 214, 216?217
- ^
Weber 2006
, p. 396
harvnb error: no target: CITEREFWeber2006 (
help
)
; World Association of Newspapers:
"Newspapers: 400 Years Young!"
- ^
Broderick, James F.; Darren W. Miller (2007).
Consider the source: A Critical Guide to 100 Prominent News and Information Sites on the Web
. Information Today, Inc. p. 1.
ISBN
978-0-910965-77-4
.
- ^
"Public Journalism and the Problem of Objectivity"
. Unc.edu
. Retrieved
2012-03-09
.
- ^
Thomas, Helen (2006).
Watchdogs of Democracy? Chapter 5 "Spinning the News"
. p. 57.
ISBN
9781416548614
.
- ^
"Re-thinking Objectivity"
. CJR
. Retrieved
2012-03-09
.
- ^
"newsworthiness - definition of newsworthiness by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia"
. Thefreedictionary.com
. Retrieved
2012-03-09
.
- ^
"News values: immediacy and technology"
.
- ^
[2]
News Values. URL Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- ^
a
b
Schudson, Michael (2011).
The Sociology of News
(2nd ed.). p. 205.
ISBN
978-0393912876
.
- ^
Schudson, Michael (2011).
The Sociology of News
(2nd ed.). pp. 207?216.
- ^
Schudson, Michael (2011).
The Sociology of News
(2nd ed.). p. 207.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Category:Television terminology