A news outlet is the source of information that people consume through the mass media, which includes newspapers, magazines and news channels. News outlets are a crucial part of keeping people connected with the world around them, but they also serve an agenda-setting role through their editorial choices. They can promote advocacy journalism, which acts to convince viewers, listeners or readers to accept a particular narrative, or informative journalism, which provides all the information a reader, listener or viewer might need in order to follow that narrative.
It is important to note that all of the information in a news story must be attributed. This can be done through direct quotes, or by paraphrasing in the case of more general information like facts from a government agency, court records or an official website. If the reporter is including his or her own opinion, it must be attributed as well.
When writing a news article, it is important to focus on recent events. It does not do a lot of good to write about something that happened a week ago, when the community has already moved on and is talking about something else. This is why it is often helpful to get a second pair of eyes on a draft of a story before submission, as an extra set of eyes can help catch typos or inaccuracies.
It is also important not to inject personal opinions into a news article. While this is often not a problem with objective news articles, the author should avoid stating their own viewpoints or biases in an op-ed piece or other forms of advocacy journalism. This is why it is generally necessary to interview multiple sources and include a range of views in the article.