The word news is broadly used to describe any group that disseminates news and information to the public. In the United States, the term news can cover anything from local community matters through international headlines to Hollywood movie stars. However, it is the news coverage itself that is the real issue. While news can be disseminated by any type of public organization, the most popular type of organizations disseminating news are newspapers and television news. Both types of organizations have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Newspapers are perhaps the world’s first mass media organization. Newspapers today constantly serve as a reference source for consumers seeking up-to-date news stories. As such, they serve as an important part of the American Information Society. While most newspapers publish more than one main article per day, few newspapers even publish two main articles within the same day. Because of this, it is rare for any newspaper to publish more than two major news stories in a single day, with the exception of wire services.
Most newspapers employ a staff of reporters and freelance reporters to conduct interviews, report on local events, and write stories. Because of the strict deadlines imposed upon them, editors often rely heavily on interviews conducted by freelance journalists. The interview serves as the basis for an in depth feature article that will appear in the newspaper’s next edition. Unlike the editorial pages of newspapers, feature articles are not reviewed by the staff before being submitted to the paper’s readership. Since many feature stories rely solely on quotations from various officials and industry experts, they often go unchallenged by readers. As such most newspapers employ a team of reporters, often numbering in the hundreds, who specialize in interviewing business leaders, celebrities, politicians, and other public figures to conduct in depth interviews that are then submitted to the news desk.
