Conference Paper · March 023 citations reads 163 authors

10. Educational value:
News has also an educational value. In almost all newspapers, you can find columns 
about educational and job opportunities. These guide you about different educational courses, career options 
available, opportunities for higher studies etc. These news items help you to become more knowledgeable. 
There are different classifications of news. The news can be classified to these types: 
a) International news 
b) National news 
c) Regional news 
d) Local news. 

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The XXXVI International Scientific Symposium "Multidisciplinary Studies of the Turkish World" 
The 25
th
 of March 2023 ISBN: 978-605-72481-0-7 Eskishehir / Türkiye 
 
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In addition to the above, in any day’s newspaper, you will find a variety of news items such as reports 
about politics, about sports, about economy, about entertainment, about crime etc. News can further be 
classified as 
hard news and soft news
: 
Hard news
refers to the news stories that have a big impact at the society as a whole and need to be 
reported urgently. They are factual stories with data, concerning events that are potentially available to 
analysis. Examples include news on politics, crime, economics, international affairs, natural calamities, riots 
etc. 
Soft news
on the other hand refers to the stories that provide other background information about 
world events, human interest stories or entertainment news. Since these do not deal with serious subjects, they 
are labelled as “soft”. Examples include sports news, celebrity news, or human interest stories that deal with 
emotions. 
The writing styles for both of these differ significantly, as the hard news stories are supposed to be 
strictly objective, the journalist need not give his or her opinion on story, but should provide facts as they are. 
However, soft news can be subjective, the journalist can give his or her opinion on stories. 
Another key difference is about deadlines provided to journalists. A reporter covering a hard news 
story is given a much tighter deadline, owing to the urgency of the coverage. Soft news can also be a timeless 
feature. For example, an article on “The Benefits of Chocolate”, “Tips to Lose Weight” and so on can be 
published at any given point of time. The writing style here is much more flexible. 
Journalists not only collect information but verify them before printing. This is called cross-checking. 
Journalists do it because they want their reports to be fair, objective and credible. By objectivity, we mean 
without any bias. A journalist while reporting news is working under heavy pressure. There is every likelihood 
of the journalist being influenced by some personal, political or corporate bias. So while reporting, the 
journalist should keep away from such prejudices and present the story in as objective a way as possible. 
Fairness is another quality required for a journalist. It is said that every story has two sides. While presenting 
the story, the journalist should not take sides. If it is a story against an individual or an institution, before 
writing the story, the journalist should seek their version also. The story should have a balance. 
Credibility of news is the most important virtue for any publication or channel or radio service. A 
reader trusts a newspaper mainly because of its credibility. If a newspaper continues to publish non-credible, 
unfair and non-objective stories, readers will start rejecting that paper. A news item published by a paper will 
be read by hundreds of thousands of people. If that news is wrong, a correction can be given the next day. But 
many readers may not see that correction. The newspaper gets a bad reputation if it is not credible. 
News is a powerful tool. It can be positive as well as negative. You may have read the news about a 
school boy killing his classmate by shooting. This is shocking news; it is also negative news. You might have 
seen such kind of news in newspapers. Two people died in a communal clash in a small town. This is also 
negative news. This news can further provoke clashes in other parts of the country. Negative news creates a 
negative impact. But if you closely watch the news stories in different newspapers, you will find that there are 
the mix of positive and negative news stories. Students of a school visiting a nearby village and offering them 
voluntary service in road building is a positive news. A charity organization helps to uplift the condition of 
homeless children is another positive news. News can also be an instrument for development. Most of the time 
it carries a message to the people. For example, news story such as “Government gives fee concession to all 
students up to graduation”. It is a development news. This enhances the chances of education for millions of 
students who cannot afford it and for those who are deprived of higher education. 
Before the age of TVs, Radio, and the internet, newspapers dominated the media. Today, they remain 
one of the most popular and accessible sources of information. But what is newspaper? A newspaper is a 
publication that contains news and content of general and special interest. The printed publication comprises 
folded sheets that display current news, correspondence, advertisements, and articles. This newspaper 
definition confirms that newspapers are important sources of valuable information in day-to-day life. In 
addition to this newspaper meaning, it is important to point out that typical newspapers report news and events 
that have occurred over the last 24 hours. 
Generally, the purpose of a newspaper is to inform and efficiently convey current information to the 
target audience. Examples include The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. 
Several factors, such as the target audience and topics covered, influenced the circulation and readership of 
newspapers. Nonetheless, with continued improvement in literacy levels, the circulation and readership of 
newspapers have increased globally, although their popularity is on a decline due to the advent of the internet. 
For nearly 400 years, newspapers have been integral sources of information. 

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