What is News?

Deborah Potter wrote an article about what news really is. http://www.america.gov/st/democracyhr-english/2008/april/20080416211618eaifas0.8870203.html She explains that news is what is new; it’s what’s happening. She goes into asking what actually makes news newsworthy? There are many things that the reporter has to take into consideration prior to writing the story. The first is timeliness. Did the story happen recently, if so it could be newsworthy. The second factor is impact. Does it affect people in the viewing area? The next is proximity. How close did this news happen to the viewing area? The fourth is Controversy. Does is involve debate? The next is prominence. Is the person involved well known? The sixth is currency. Are people here talking about this? The seventh is Oddity. Is this news unusual? The next things she goes into talking about is the differences between hard news and soft news. Hard news is something that is happening now and soft news is news that can be evergreen, which means can be used whenever because it will never be old. I believe that Potter explained what news really is in a way that anyone can understand it.