As the media move into the 21st century, it might be a good idea to examine an age-old question: What is news? To an old-time city editor, the question alone would be enough to kick you out of the newsroom. What is news? Dog bites man is not news. It happens every day. Man bites dog is news. That seldom happens. That is news. News is the unusual or the unexpected, events selected because they are strange or abnormal. In the words of one historian, news is a coarse, unrefined substance made up of events selected for their strangeness as much as their significance, their emotional appeal as much as their import. News is fresh; news is new; news is of interest to a large portion of the public. For centuries, journalists have lived by a strict and simple formula: Tell the what, when, where, who, how, and why as quickly and as accurately as possible.
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