The daily newspaper, in its role as the free press, serves several functions in the community:
-
A newspaper informs by supplying facts, figures, charts, maps, photos and illustrations.
-
A newspaper educates, going beyond the basic facts to in-depth analysis in opinion pieces, feature stories, columns and editorials.
-
A newspaper entertains with humorous columns, leisure features, comics and puzzles.
-
A newspaper provides a print marketplace for advertisers and prospective customers.
-
A newspaper provides a record for historians and members of a community researching local history.
Types of News: Hard news and soft news
News can be divided into two general categories: hard news and soft news.
Hard news refers to a story in which time is a factor. In a hard news story, the task of reporters and editors is to get the details of the event ( what happened? to whom? when? where? why? and how?) into the newspaper as quickly as possible - either the same day or the following day at the latest.
Soft news is usually not time sensitive. Nor is it necessarily related to a major event. A daily newspaper strives for a mixture of local and national, hard and soft news so its pages will have variety and offer something for every interest.
Fact versus opinion
A newspaper's primary purpose is to provide reliable information to its readers. To do so, it must maintain certain standards. A reporter has to write from an objective point of view.
To convey information fairly, a reporter must let the facts speak for themselves. That's not to say opinion has no place in newspapers.
Opinions supporting or opposing policies and ideas have a place on the editorial page and are regularly aired by columnists. If opinions are to have any value, they must be supported by facts.
Reprinted, with permission, from News is Not Just Black and White, a workbook produced by the Canadian Newspaper Association.
