News is the information about fresh facts that the public needs. The value of news lies in its ability to be newsworthy, which is determined by the qualities of “truth, freshness, and public demand” contained in the information. This value is distinct from the utility value of news. Positive news can also have negative effects, such as whitewashing, numbing, and misleading, while negative news can have positive effects, such as cognitive awareness, warning, education, and supervision. The proportion of positive news to negative news does not necessarily reflect the proportion of positive facts to negative facts in society. The functions and uses of news include reflection, informing, understanding, and attracting attention. News can be superficially true or deeply true, partially true or comprehensively true, simply true or deeply true. The concept of essential truth does not contribute much to news activities; instead, it can lead to biases and even serve as an excuse for one-sided reporting. The needs and wants of news audiences are both connected and distinct, and news media should strive to turn what they need into what they want.