News is information about current events that is communicated to a wide audience through various media. Historically, this included word of mouth, printed letters and newspapers, postal systems, broadcasting and electronic communication. In the modern era, news has become more widely available due to technological developments that have altered both the ways in which it travels and how it is consumed.
Traditionally, national news has covered events that have significant impact across an entire country or continent. It has included reports about wars, government policies, politics, education, economics and health as well as celebrity news and quirky or unusual stories. It is usually filtered through professional standards that prioritize the ‘Five Ws’ (who, what, when, where and why) of an event in order to provide objective and accurate information.
The rapid spread of social media has also altered the way national events are reported. Now, local issues can be instantly viewed by large audiences and may be given more prominence than would have been possible in print media or traditional broadcasting. This can lead to the distortion of truth or sensationalism, but it is also possible that local issues can be put into a larger context for broader appeal, and this can be beneficial.
The choice of which stories are presented to a wider audience is largely determined by the demographics and interests of that audience. Local news stations often cater to a localized audience and therefore prioritize local events, while national news outlets try to engage a national audience and will therefore prioritise stories that resonate with more general societal concerns.