News, More Than One Society
The first person to use the term news is probably Noah Webster, who used the term in his dictionary around 1690. According to the Oxford dictionary, News is “A periodical or report of recent happenings. Usually with reference to human events, though sometimes also of other animals and plants”. A news report usually includes some live action. It may be related to a natural occurrence, an event that happened recently or even something that has happened in the past but is re-occurring presently. It may be news for a certain industry or for the country as a whole.
Today, news can mean different things to different people. For some it is the news that makes the weekend exciting and a thrill to read. For others, it is the latest in the line of political intrigue and the major breaking news stories that keep them glued to their TV sets or computer monitors. To most people news is neither exciting nor news, they would prefer the social and cultural aspects of it, the good and bad times that are happening in their favorite places and people they know.
With this in mind, we can derive a news value from many things that happen in the world. For instance, some musicians make news out of the fact that they have broken up. Other musicians make news out of the fact that they have won the popular vote. There are singers who make news out of the fact that they have performed in front of big crowds and won awards. And there are photographers who take photos of different societies and then put them in photo albums and sell them to collectors.
Some news stories may affect many people and cause excitement or enthusiasm for various causes or issues. For example, a world cup may cause a lot of interest in football, soccer or anything that involves sports or politics. And there is an interesting book written about the tension between West Germany and the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. Some may find this story interesting and some may not.
Another news story that may not make news but will make an interesting read, is that about a man aged forty from a different society who has come back to earth from the other side. The journey was supposed to be impossible and yet this man has made it. This man is said to have lived a wonderful and fulfilling life on earth. There are also stories that reveal the secret lives and loves of different societies and civilizations in the world. And we can learn something about our own culture by reading these kinds of news stories.
Similarly, there are stories that give a rather gloomy outlook on the current situation. This may influence some listeners to support a particular political party. But the news can also have positive influences, one society can learn a lot from another society and the world we live in is made up of different societies with different cultures, traditions and lifestyles. So the news can have an impact on us by changing our behavior. It may be in the way we look at the world and how we react to it.