We did a test in class, and I saw this sentence below.
Read the text and cross out the extra word (maximum one per line).
- some of the lines are correct
if the line is correct put a √ at the end of the line.
- …
- safe. Many children feel scared because of
- news stories of child murders. Children
- feel safer because of their parents always know where they are.
I crossed out the word "stories" but my teacher marked it incorrect, so I expostulated with him.
Maybe for him, these two words looked the same, but I argued that "you can not know for sure what an American or a British would choose."
So, in order to end the dispute, I'd like to find out what native speakers think about it.
- What is the difference between “news” and “news stories”?
- Are they interchangeable? Shouldn't have I crossed out “stories”?
Best Answer
What I would write is highly dependent on context. The two terms, while related, are rather different.
The word news refers to the general events of the day or any information revealed. The Oxford Living Dictionaries gives these definitions:
A news story, on the other hand, is a single piece of news as reported. Dictionary.com gives this definition:
The news, whether reported on television, radio, or in a newspaper, will undoubtedly consist of multiple stories: the latest scandal in Washington, the latest scandal in Hollywood, a cat rescues a fireman stuck in a tree, and so on. Each of these is a single news story.
Without more context, it would be difficult to say which should be used; they are not the same thing.