The news or news

[Rachel Adams]

Should I use "the" before "news" in my sentences?

A: "I don't read the news. Today's news is all nerves, fear and anxiety. The news turned to noise. The louder it shouts the less sense it makes. News builds a crooked picture of the world. The conclusion is simple: don't read the news and live in peace."

I am not sure "noise" is correct. I wanted to use "gossip", "distorted" instead of "crooked" and I also wanted to add "about" in the second sentence. I also changed some words. Is version B correct?


B: "I don't read news. Today's news is all about fear and anxiety. The news turned into gossip. The louder it is the less sense it makes. News builds a distorted picture of the world. The solution is simple. Don't read the news and live in peace.

 

[emsr2d2]

Should I use "the" before "news" in my sentences?

A: "I don't read the news. Today's news is all nerves, fear and anxiety. The news has turned to noise. The louder it shouts, the less sense it makes. News builds a crooked picture of the world. The conclusion is simple: don't read the news and live in peace."

I am not sure "noise" is correct. I wanted to use "gossip", "distorted" instead of "crooked" and I also wanted to add "about" in the second sentence. I also changed some words. Is version B correct?


B: "I don't read the news. Today's news is all about fear and anxiety. The news has turned into gossip. The louder it is, the less sense it makes. News builds a distorted picture of the world. The solution is simple. Don't read the news and live in peace.

See above. In sentence 5, "the" is optional before "news".

 

[Rachel Adams]

See above. In sentence 5, "the" is optional before "news".

When exactly is it optional? Could you please explain? Can I use version A with the corrections you have made? I thought I shouldn't have used the colon.

 

[teechar]

read the news.

Consider also "follow the news".
You might also want to use "mass media" in the above, just for variety (instead of repeating "the news").

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I like "The news has turned to noise." It's clever.

 

[Rachel Adams]

I like "The news has turned to noise." It's clever.

So "the news" is not used when talking about the news generally but when talking about specific news. If talking generally native speakers use "news" not "the news". Right? But at the same time I see examples such as "I don't read the news". I don't think that refers to specific news, however, "the" is used. Could you explain please?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

So "the news" is not used when talking about the news generally

"The news" can be general or specific.

- General: I've been catching up on the news all day.

- Specific: Did you hear the news about my sister?

but when talking about specific news.

See above.

If talking generally native speakers use "news" not "the news". Right?

See above.

But at the same time I see examples such as "I don't read the news". I don't think that refers to specific news, however, "the" is used.

Correct. It's the news in general.

Could you explain please?

When we talk about the news media, we call it "the news":

- I always watch the news at six.

​

When we talk about new information, it's like any other uncountable noun:

- She got news about her cat today.

- She was happy to hear the news about her cat.

- It was great news.​

 

[Rachel Adams]

When we talk about the news media, we call it "the news":

- I always watch the news at six.

​

When we talk about new information, it's like any other uncountable noun:

- She got news about her cat today.

- She was happy to hear the news about her cat.

- It was great news.​

You said "the news" can be general or specific. I think I misunderstood that at first. I thought "the news" is always specific while "news" without the article is always general. As in these examples
1. "I don't read news."
2. "The news has turned into gossip."
3. "News builds a distorted picture of the world."
4. "The solution is simple." "Don't read the news and live in peace."
I should use "the" in each example. Am I right? emsr2d2 said it's optional in "news builds a distorted picture of the world" but I don't understand why.:-?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

You said "the news" can be general or specific. I think I misunderstood that at first. I thought "the news" is always specific while "news" without the article is always general. As in these examples
1. "I don't read news."

That's fine. Where I live, "the news" is more common.

2. "The news has turned into gossip."

That's fine, too.

3. "News builds a distorted picture of the world."

Yes. Again, where I live, "The news" is more likely.

4. "The solution is simple: Don't read the news, and live in peace."

You need a comma there. Without a comma, it would mean: Don't read the news, and don't live in peace."

I should use "the" in each example. Am I right?

Not necessarily. I would, but I'm just one person.

Emsr2d2 said it's optional in "news builds a distorted picture of the world" but I don't understand why.

It's optional in all of them.

Start all sentences with capital letters. You can either capitalize Emsr2d2 or rephrase. For example: "Moderator emsr2d2 says . . . ."

Once again, we're just talking about tendencies, not rules.

The important thing is to understand that the word "news" has two uses. One is for recently acquired information (Did you hear the news? I got a dog!), and one is for information distributed to the public by journalism organizations — what we call "the news media."

The first is an ordinary uncountable noun. The second is the one you're grappling with.

 

[Rachel Adams]

When we talk about the news media, we call it "the news":

- I always watch the news at six.

​

When we talk about new information, it's like any other uncountable noun:

- She got news about her cat today.

- She was happy to hear the news about her cat.

- It was great news.​

I understand now. Thank you. I wanted to ask you about these examples "she got news abot her cat today" why is there no article while in the second example "she was happy to hear the news about her cat" is? And in "did you hear the news? I got a dog!" Is it because in the second and third examples the news were mentioned before and it's specific?

 

[Rachel Adams]

See above. In sentence 5, "the" is optional before "news".

Could you tell me if in the last sentence using semicolon and/or colon would be wrong?
"The solution is simple: don't read the news and live in peace."
Either seems to be correct according to my dictionary, but I am not sure.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Could you tell me if in the last sentence using semicolon and/or colon would be wrong?
"The solution is simple: don't read the news and live in peace."

A colon is correct. A semicolon would be wrong.

Many editors, writers, and teachers would capitalize "Don't."

Either seems to be correct according to my dictionary, but I am not sure.

Read your dictionary page again. It explains why a colon is correct.

But Rachel, you're still leaving out the comma! (See post 9.)

"Don't read the news and live in peace" is a SERIES. It lists two don'ts:

1. Don't read the news.

2. DON'T live in peace.

"Don't read the news, and live in peace" is a COMPOUND SENTENCE. It means:

1. Don't read the news.

2. Live in peace."

Now do you see why you need a comma?