News coverage is the process of selecting, presenting, and broadcasting a story in newspaper, television, or online. It can have an impact on a society by creating awareness and changing a person’s perception of events. It can also affect a person’s emotions and actions. A negative news story can have a lasting impact on people, such as increased stress levels and decreased health. For example, the media’s sensationalized coverage of Hurricane Irma in 2017 caused people to have worse psychological outcomes after the storm, even after controlling for other factors.
The media often explains issues not in terms of their own merits but as they affect different people. This is why prime news stories are usually about high-profile or powerful individuals in conflict, e.g., a terrorist attack or political upheaval. The media may also frame discussions of social policy and elections by providing horse-race coverage of candidates and short sound bites, causing voters to seek other sources of information like social media to gain a deeper understanding of the issue or election.
In addition, news reporters and producers are human, and they can be swayed by anger, jealousy, anxiety, or ambition. They must also consider the goals of their organizations, which might have a strong influence on what kind of stories are selected for news coverage. When journalists’ own motives and those of the organizations they work for clash, a compromise will have to be made. For example, a newspaper in Washington wants to report all the facts behind a story, but a news station in Denver has limited resources and needs to be brief.