The concept of News
News is one of the best known commodities in today’s world. Everybody who understands a language and has access to mass media recognizes it. The concept of news must have existed even before the beginning of the era of mass media. One may find relics of a primitive system in remote tribal areas where people exchange local news during weekly markets just by talking to one another.
When two friends meet after some time they exchange information which can be call personal news. Letters written to friends and relatives carry what can be described as news by them. This kind of information exchange is continuing since early days of human society in one form or the other.
Every body will agree that death makes news. If a person dies of a disease or an accident it makes news. The importance of this news is related to the importance of the person and/or deadliness of the disease.
Before the era of newspapers and electronic media, news was communicated by world of mouth. Public announcements by those in power were communicated to the people by various kinds of drummers. Such announcements even now dominate the news coverage in the newspapers, radio and television in almost all countries irrespective of ideology. Radio and television stations become first targets in coups and those who snatch power from the old regime use these electronic drummers for their first announcements.
Though the concept is very old the word “news” is relatively recent in origin. In English it appeared as “newis” in 1423, “newyes” in 1485 and evolved to “newes” in 1523. It was only after 1550 that it became “news” and even in 1622 there was Butler’s Weekly Newes in London while in 1685 we had such sentences as “The amazing newes of Charles at once were spread”.
News Value
Importance and interest are often described as news values but in fact these represent the sum total of news values or intrinsic characteristics that distinguish news from non-news. Identifying and measuring these values is usually called news sense. It is commonly believed that reporters identify news by intuition. But this intuition, which should be called news sense, develops in newspersons who subconsciously learn how to measure news values.
Change: It is a basic news value. If nothing happens there will be no change. But the world is not static. Every moment things are different from the preceding moment. The bigger the change and the more the people affected by this change the more important it is from the news point of view.
With the emergence of electronic media newspapers are not alone in the news market. Radio and TV stations all over the world also give news to their listeners and viewers and are feared as strong competitors of newspapers which may eventually push the latter out of the market. But over the years, we have seen that newspapers have survived and the new shape of newspaper is e-paper, electronic paper and in other ways Newspaper Website. This is a very strong source of news now a days. Every person have Android Mobile, Laptop and tablet. Today’s every one have no time to spend their time in watching TV or listening Radio. Newspaper Websites are very famous now a days. It is true that it is the best source to get news immediately and without lose their time. Because you can read news on website during the work.
