Why Do People Look Up to the Latest News?
News is basically information which was not known before, current events broadcast on the radio, television, internet or in some print media either daily or weekly. The purpose of news is to inform and to educate. Since ancient times news is a basic need of the human race and especially in today’s fast-paced technological world. Modern man has become so dependent on the electronic media that we cannot imagine a life without computers, telephones, communication through emails and mobile phones. In fact news is even considered as the most important economic asset of a country, an asset that can bring up the economy or even a country to ruin if it is not well managed.
Today people look for news almost everywhere, for example they look for the latest news on the stock market, news about the political situation of a country, news about health issues like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and so on. News is expected every day, the first news is about the New York Stock Exchange opening for trading and the stock prices shoot up within minutes and usually fall shortly after. It is a true test of how fast things change. But what is important with the news? Is it the news itself or is it the people reporting the news that drives the news. People look for two characteristics in the news: the accuracy and the timeliness.
Accuracy refers to the news being true to the facts. It doesn’t matter if the facts are sometimes disturbing, the latest news is still news, it is still reporting the facts as they are. Timeliness refers to the news being timely. The media play an important role in providing the latest news and this is one reason why people depend on the media for their all important decision making.
So what are the factors that make people look for the latest news? The most obvious reason is for the marketing purposes. Marketing people look for the latest news so that they can come out with new ideas or come up with new products. News has always been important to the marketing people and the more news they get, the better. But another reason that people look for news is because of breaking news.
There have been many occasions when the news has helped those in need. It was during the Gulf War when a major news report came out about a plane crash that claimed the lives of overoilers. This news report helped the people find a way to save money on oil imports. Similarly, a big story about the financial crisis that the world is going through was also important for the people who could understand the situation better than the finance ministers and other policy makers. Both these situations are important and if there is any important news related to these two, then most of the people look for it so as to act on it as soon as possible.
What are the other reasons that people look for the latest news? Obviously, one of the most important reasons is to know about the health issues related to a particular disease. With the rapid spread of obesity, heart diseases and diabetes, news reports are becoming more important. So, next time when you feel short of breath or feel a headache coming on, just look up and see what is happening around you.