News is any type of information about events that are happening in the world or a specific area. This can be in the form of news reports, newspapers, radio or television programmes.

How do you know if something is news?

To make a story about something that is news you need to look at the facts and decide whether they are interesting enough for people to want to know more. You also need to find out if they are important.

Are they things that affect many people?

If an event or situation affects a lot of people then it is likely to be news. This could be for example, a major natural disaster or a large number of people losing their jobs because of a downturn in the economy.

Are they things that happen regularly?

Most news is about human activity. However, it can also be about non-human sources, such as a cyclone or a bush fire.

Are they things that happen every day?

Some things that happen every day, such as a man waking up and eating breakfast or catching the bus to work, do not make news.

Are they things that happen in a special way?

Most news is about people, but some stories are about things that happen in the environment or to animals. If a tiger has just been born then this would be an interesting and dramatic news story.

The decision to include an event in a newspaper or on the TV news line-up is made by people who work for that particular news organization. These are called editors, managers or news directors. They take recommendations from reporters and assistant editors. They then use these decisions to decide what will become news.