Here are the three most important things any story should address:

1. Why should I read this? A news article should grab your attention from the moment you read the title – and most importantly, it should stay true to its name. This is very important because it forms a trusting relationship between the journalist and reader – most people will only fall for the “bait and switch” method a few times before they learn to avoid that particular news outlet.
2. What is the point of the story? When you get done reading an article you should always have a clear understanding of the point it was trying to convey. If you don’t, then you just wasted the last ten minutes of your time. For example, if you click to read a story about a great white shark jumping into a boat, then you shouldn’t exit the page wondering how the shark was removed, or how it managed such a feat in the first place.
3. How does this help me become more aware? A great news story tells you something that you didn’t know before you clicked on the title.

In contrast, some stories aren’t meant to fulfill a title – they’re written for pure entertainment and they definitely have a place in world of journalism. After all, we all need a little bit of light-hearted humor to break up the day!

If you were alive in the 1950s, you may have heard of a little known radio interviewer known as Larry King. Since then, his popularity has steadily grown, and his television show is a consistently highly ranked program with millions of regular viewers. However, life is very rarely a smooth, easy ride to the top for the people who really make it, and Larry was no exception. See, early in his career he was only a “little guy,” and his popularity only grew lightly in the 1960s. However, this steady growth did allow his income to expand. And as so many people say, “When you earn more, you spend more.”

Larry King’s popularity grew dramatically over the course of the 1970s. By the time 1978 rolled around, Larry was extremely famous for his interviews (which, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, stands at over 30,000 individuals and growing). Unfortunately, he had spent a massive amount of money above and beyond what he made, and had dug himself into a pit of debt roughly $352,000 deep.  Fortunately he stopped digging at that point and got wise to the benefits of filing for bankruptcy. Once this little celebrity bankruptcy was out of the way, he got back in the saddle with more sanity in his life.

Granted, he still enjoys spending his money a bit. But at least now Larry is keeping his spending habits in line with what he actually earns. That is the great thing about being able to file bankruptcy and then move on with your life: You can learn the lessons that you need to without having them hang over you for the rest of your days. When you can look back at it and laugh, you’ve learned your lesson. If Larry king can go through this kind of trial, anybody can.