News tells people about things that have happened. A news story gives facts and context. An opinion piece argues for a point of view. They are different jobs, and a reader who knows the difference reads more clearly.

A news story says where its facts come from. It asks the people involved for comment, and it tries to show more than one view. Journalists try to be fair, using neutral language and putting facts in context.

You may have heard that everything in a newspaper is the paper's opinion. In fact, news stories give facts. Opinion pieces argue for a point of view. Reporters ask who, what, when, where, why and how to find those facts.

A story that looks like news is not always news. Sponsored content is paid for by an advertiser but made to look like the publisher's own stories, so it should have a clear label. When you see a label, you know who paid.

Good news reporters try to check each fact and use more than one original source when they can. A reporter listens to people and writes down what they say, then an editor checks the story. Editors choose which stories to run, so not every event becomes a news story.

A news organization that finds a mistake should say so and fix it. That is part of why readers can trust a paper that also admits when it is wrong.

Printed news has a long history. The first newspaper printed in the American colonies came out in Boston in 1690. It was stopped after one issue. Benjamin Franklin, at 16, wrote essays in the newspaper his older brother printed, using the made-up name Silence Dogood.

Some news is not run for profit. The Public Broadcasting Act, signed on November 7, 1967, created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. As of November 2026, NPR describes itself as an independent, non-profit organization, and PBS calls itself a membership organization that works with its member stations.

Studies of how people read the news find that, on average, people pay more attention to negative news than to positive news. Hearing scary or sad news again and again, or seeing strong pictures of it, can upset children. If news is scary or upsetting, it is okay to turn it off and talk with a grown-up, who can help.

Some news is uplifting, such as children their age taking a stand on an issue. When you read any story, ask which job it is doing: news, opinion or an ad.

Words to know

• opinion: someone's view
• sponsored: paid for
• context: bigger picture
• neutral: not taking sides
• journalists: news reporters