Why is news news?

Flickr photo by David.R.Carroll

Why is news, news? That's two questions, so let's deal with them one at a time. The first has to do with Marshall McLuhan's famous quote "The medium is the message"; the second, with the characteristics of a news story and why it's important for organizations to make news.

The medium is the message
When that phrase was coined in the mid-60s not even McLuhan himself could have fully realized its full implications. Now it is clear to all that the new media revolution has transformed not only the way information is delivered, but how people think. One aspect of that change is the unlimited ability for individuals and organizations to make their own news. By making news, I mean delivering their stories in legitimate articles and disseminating it to interested audiences. That's what NewsMaker is all about.

What is news and why is it important?
Information delivered in a journalistic style, in a timely manner, through recognized channels, to an interested audience is news. Most of us recognize 'news style' instantly. There's a cadence to a news story and a 'look' to news presentations that make people sit up and take notice. It says with a thousand cues: "This is important stuff, take notice!"
Until recently control over the delivery of news rested with major outlets: newspapers, radio stations and television stations. New media technology has changed all that. What it hasn't changed is the need for solid journalism that gives people real information which they will come to rely on as an important perspective on their world: news.
In fact the deluge of information flooding the internet has made it imperative for organizations that went to get their messages out to deliver it as news. Not as public relations 'fluff', but as solid, reliable, relevant news.
NewsMaker's goal is to provide that kind of content for the media outlets of its clients. Web sites, blogs, newsletters, news releases, YouTube videos... NewsMaker's goal is to provide legitimate, high quality news content from an organizational perspective for the array of networks available to you, the news source.