The concept of news can be complex, ranging from the definition of news to the different media used to produce it. For example, a newspaper’s agenda may be different from that of a television station’s. The newspaper’s agenda identifies stories it believes have a greater chance of influencing public opinion. In addition, newspaper journalists may use a variety of different methods to reach their target audience, including social media.
Social media is increasingly becoming a source of news, and most news organizations contribute to these sites. These accounts typically link to the news outlet’s website. While this has helped to increase the reach of news stories, it has also caused many questions about the credibility of such content. Recently, a group of lawyers from tech companies testified before U.S. Congress that some of their users had viewed content created by Russian operatives.
When selecting stories for news, journalists often look for events that are out of the ordinary and that will be of interest to their target audience. People like stories about controversies, so anything associated with them will be newsworthy. Similarly, news about people who are prominent are likely to be newsworthy. But the news that is most exciting is often the result of something unexpected. Stories of human interest may also be emotionally impacting and will generate more attention.
A television program’s newscasts are also often categorized as either entertainment or serious news. Entertainment stories include anything from sex to show business to animals. Entertainment stories also include information about controversial issues and are often accompanied by entertaining photographs and witty headlines.