News as we know it

For most college students (so, all of us), the word "news" would be associated with the New York Times, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the Boston Globe, or any local newspaper or online periodical similar to the ones listed. These medium provide local, national, and international stories that educate the reader on events and developments occurring in one's town, surrounding area, state, country, or around the globe. Personally, when logging onto CNN.com or reading the Boston Globe I look for stories that are A) relevant (occurring within a day or two), B) interesting (pertaining to a topic that I find interest within), or C) within close proximity to my location. For example, if the Boston Globe is running a story on education reform, if the story is primarily about Boston schools it would hold a medium amount of interest to me since I live a good 25 minutes outside the city. However if the story concerned Lexington schools and how the override that recently passed was going to eliminate hundreds of jobs in the town, I would have far more interest since I live in Lexington and have 2 siblings currently attending Lexington High School. News is all about perspective. A story about a hurricane in the Florida Keys would be of immediate interest to those living in the surrounding area or to anyone who knows someone living in that area. Yet someone living in California or in Boston, for example, would most only invest a small amount of interest in the story. This is just one example of how news stories vary drastically in importance depending on a variety of factors; relevance, proximity, prominence, and more