Students Talking About News @ Dazhong (STAND) is a platform for students to share their opinions about newsworthy articles! 

Rationale:

There are several advantages of reading newspapers in our life which cannot be underestimated. With newspaper reading, we perpetually enhance our vocabulary, reading skills, knowledge & a lot more. STAND! does not only “teach students the news,” but allows them to understand it, think critically about what they’re reading or hearing, and then apply their knowledge to the real world. We aspire our students to become concerned and contributing citizens who dare to make a difference. STAND! also aims to develop our students to become good orators which further helps them in taking an active part in debates, speeches & discussions. When a student possesses knowledge about different topics, he/ she is able to speak without any hesitation in front of others. Dare to SHINE! This ultimately increases his/her level of confidence and be an effective communicator. 

Why do people read news?

1. Timing

The word news means exactly that - things which are new. Topics which are current are good news. People are used to receiving the latest updates, and there is so much news about that old news is quickly discarded.

A story with only average interest needs to be told quickly if it is to be told at all.

If it happened today, it's news. If the same thing happened last week, it's no longer interesting.

2. Significance

The number of people affected by the story is important. A plane crash in which hundreds of people died is more significant than a crash killing a dozen.

3. Proximity

Stories which happen near to us have more significance. The closer the story to home, the more newsworthy it is.

Stories from countries with which we have a particular bond or similarity have the same effect. For example, Australians would be expected to relate more to a story from a distant Western nation than a story from a much closer Asian country.

4. Prominence

Famous people get more coverage just because they are famous. If you break your arm it won't make the news, but if the Queen of England breaks her arm it's big news.

5. Human Interest

Human interest stories are a bit of a special case. They often disregard the main rules of newsworthiness; for example, they don't date as quickly, they need not affect a large number of people, and it may not matter where in the world the story takes place.

Human interest stories appeal to emotions. They aim to evoke responses such as amusement or sadness. 

Important for news writer!

The first sentence of an article (often presented in bold, or capitals, or a larger font) is called the topic sentence. It introduces the main topic/subject of the article. It aims to give you the whole story in one sentence– who, what, where, why and when. It is also the line which attracts reader to continue reading!