News is important for a number of reasons within a society. Mainly to inform the public about events that are around them and may affect them.
Often news is for entertainment purposes too; to provide a distraction of information about other places people are unable to get to or have little influence over. News can make people feel connected too.
News is important as a social gathering space too, hence newspapers either online or physically place an emphasis on news. Where there are a lot of people gathered there is an opportunity to advertise. This advertising sometimes can cause a conflict of interest in the way news is reported.
Importance of local news
News from a local area is often important to advise people in a locality about activities that may have an impact on a community. This can allow a community to engage in decision-making processes in a community. For example, if a local community reports on a dangerous road or accident hotspot reporting these can be later used as evidence to lobby for funding to fix a problem.
Importance of national news
Often countries have a broad extent of distance and in some cases differing time zones. Having a national news focus can allow people to gain a sense of national perspective. This is particularly significant for countries that have a diverse range of population centres such as cities or towns. For example, large cities many thousands of kilometres apart may still rely on each other for trade or resources of economic significance. So knowing the situations in other cities and towns becomes important.
Importance of international news
News from one country to another is important in today’s global economy. Knowing what is happening in other countries gives people a perspective of each other’s ways of life and cultural differences. Certain kinds of news from countries that rely on each other for energy or other resources can often have a profound influence on overall global economics.