The dissemination of news is an essential element of civil society. While people have been transporting new information through oral means throughout history, newspapers emerged in China during the early modern period and spread to other parts of the world. In the 20th century, television and radio emerged as important news-transmission technologies, and today, the Internet is playing a similar role.
There are various types of news, each with a different audience and purpose. Hard news is front-page news, and may be about business, crime, natural disasters, or other major events. It is often controversial and timely, and puts the most pertinent information first. For example, a story about a murder may make front-page news.
Stories of high magnitude can be interesting to readers, and they can be easily understood if the subject is familiar to them. People respond to stories that have an element of surprise, such as scandal. Another way to increase the value of a news story is by using infographics or audio-visuals. Similarly, stories that are timely are more likely to be reported.
Another factor that affects news value is location. It is more interesting for readers if a story is about their hometown than if it is about an international event. This is because people in those cities or countries have a higher chance of being interested.