News

From RationalWiki

News is the reporting of events. It should contain at answer the six questions, the "who, what, when, where, why, and how" of an event. Modern news tends to add a seventh: "Wow" or "Whoa", in the form of fancy graphics, dramatic music, etc.. Although everyone disseminating news will claim to be unbiased^{[citation needed]}, it is inevitable that opinion is involved, often as a genuine opinion piece or thinly veiled and disguised as a fact. This begins at the very selection of "what is news?" and extends to the wording used in the presentation.

The traveling minstrels of the middle ages provided news leavened by entertainment and the current media continue the mixture. Broadcast news shows often have a jocular "endpiece" about an amusing incident to leave the viewer/auditor with a feeling of comfort. Similarly, print news is interspersed with cartoons and trivia.

One thing News isn't is what is broadcast by Fox News.

However, for a good take on what news more commonly is, Fark is worth a look.