What is the definition of news? How does it differ from information and propaganda?

Hello, I'll try to explain my understanding in plain language, hoping it helps you.

What is News?

You can think of news as "something that just happened, is somewhat related to you, me, and everyone else, and is true."

For example: The road in front of your residential complex was fine yesterday, but this morning it's suddenly flooded because a water pipe burst overnight. This is a typical piece of news.

It has several key points:

New: It must have just happened, or just been discovered. Old news from yesterday generally doesn't count as news.
Real: It must be factual, well-founded, not fabricated. Who, when, where, and what happened must all be clearly stated.
Important: The event must have some significance and affect some people. For instance, if a water pipe bursts, people have to take a detour to work, which is an impact. If it's just your faucet dripping, that's not important to others, so it's not news.

Therefore, news is the reporting of recently occurred facts that have social significance.

How is it different from "Information" and "Propaganda"?

News vs. Information

This is the easiest to confuse. You can imagine "information" as a huge warehouse containing everything: knowledge, data, common sense, gossip... For example, "the Earth is round" is information, "a train schedule" is information, and "your phone's contact list" is also information.

News, however, is just a small section in this huge warehouse, marked with a "New Arrivals" sign.

The differences are:

Scope: "Information" has an incredibly vast scope, encompassing everything. News is a very specific type of information. You could say that all news is information, but most information is not news.
Timeliness: News places a strong emphasis on being "fresh," while much information has no time sensitivity, such as scientific knowledge or historical data.

Simply put, news is the "dynamic, time-sensitive" part of important information.

News vs. Propaganda

This is the most fundamental difference between the two, and the key lies in their purpose.

The purpose of news: Ideally, the purpose of news is to inform. It acts like an objective messenger, telling you "what happened," presenting the facts to you, and allowing you to judge and think for yourself. It strives to be balanced and neutral; if reporting on a dispute, it will present both sides' viewpoints.
The purpose of propaganda: The purpose of propaganda is to persuade. It's not about making you "know," but about making you "believe" and "act." It has a clear stance and desired outcome.

Let's take another example:

A news report might say: "Brand X's new smartphone was released today, equipped with an A processor and priced at 5000 yuan. Reviews indicate its camera is powerful, but some users have reported average battery life." — It tells you the good and potentially not-so-good, letting you decide whether to buy it.
A propaganda piece, however, would say: "Revolutionary product launched with a bang! Featuring the strongest A processor ever, bringing you an unprecedented smooth experience! Pre-order now and enjoy future technology!" — It only emphasizes the advantages, using exciting words, with the sole purpose of making you spend money quickly.

To summarize:

Information is a big basket, everything goes in.
News is something fresh, hot, and valuable to everyone that just got put into the basket.
Propaganda is taking something from the basket, shouting loudly about it, and trying to make you accept and like it.