What is news, anyway? Readers’ answers depend on how much they see people like themselves in the story

What is  news, anyway?

I don’t mean to get all metaphysical with you on a Tuesday, but it’s not a question with an obvious answer. What’s news to you might not be news to me. Sometimes, when people talk about “the news,” they really mean “politics and government.” News changes at scale; a new restaurant opening in Zwolle, Louisiana is “news” in a way a new restaurant opening in Manhattan is not. Some news is “hard”; other news is “soft” and often subject to being declared not news at all. Somewhere, there’s a boundary between news and entertainment, but it’s not easy to point at it on a map. And sometimes, the label of “news” implies a certain worthiness, a justification of its request for your attention. 

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