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Someone asked me how I learn vocabulary. I said that I learn by consuming news. Big events are usually reported in the news again and again. This is good because I can learn vocabulary on that topic again and again. Should I use "it" to refer to "news" or use "they" to refer to the implied news organizations?

One good thing about news is that it/they doesn’t/don't report something just once. Today it/they tells/tell you that Apple now allows you to disable cross-app tracking. The next day it/they talks/talk about how this feature can affect Facebook’s advertising business.

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  • The news is good or bad. It is welcome news. One wouldn't usually say that the news reported. Agencies, radio and TV stations etc report incidents in the news.
    – Ronald Sole
    Nov 26, 2022 at 9:47
  • @RonaldSole, thank you. Since "news" is singular and news doesn't report incidents, if I use "they" people would know that by "they" I mean agencies, radio, TV stations, etc.?
    – newbie forever
    Nov 26, 2022 at 9:55
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    They certainly should.
    – Ronald Sole
    Nov 26, 2022 at 10:39

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If you are talking about "the news" itself, it is a non-count noun and is always singular. I litened to the news, it was all good, for a change.

The people who report the news - i.e. papers, radio, TV, internet etc are usually plural. They (the news media) gave priority tonight to the events at the World Cup.

If you are speaking about a single news organisation e.g. the BBC, in Britain it would be plural - it being normal to refer to organisations, teams etc as "they".

However that may not be the case in America where they tend more to refer to organised bodies in the singular.

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    I would disagree that it would be normal to use the plural after a broadcaster such as the BBC (my former employer). I would argue that The BBC reports this morning or The BBC is reporting is just as normal , as in Barclays has been fined. In practice, the choice seems to depend entirely on the preference of the source and to some extent on the context.
    – Ronald Sole
    Nov 26, 2022 at 10:45
  • @RonaldSole Your point accepted.
    – WS2
    Nov 26, 2022 at 15:47

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