Political news is the kind of information that gives a citizen an idea about government policy, politics, election results and other issues that affect their daily lives. This kind of news is usually reported by print, broadcast and online media.
When writing political news stories, it is important to give the facts first, then any opinions, and only in very rare cases should you mention your own point of view at all. This is to avoid the trap of a story that starts with a biased opinion and then reports facts in order to balance it.
A common challenge in reporting political news is to find reliable sources. This can be difficult, especially if politicians are known to spread misinformation. A good way to counter this is to draw on fact-checking websites like Snopes and Politifact when quoting politicians. If you do notice an official or politician spreading a lie, try to catch them out on it by putting it in context with the truth, such as this piece from the Kansas City Star on Representative Josh Hawley’s Christian nationalism, and highlight the lack of evidence supporting the claim.
Some journalists are trying to address this problem by introducing the philosophy of civic journalism, which involves interviewing members of the public and allowing them to share their thoughts on a political issue. This is aimed at encouraging citizens to participate in democracy, instead of the more common practice of politicians making decisions based on popularity contests to secure their re-election.