News APIs: What are they and How to Choose Them?

It is said that APIs are the backbone of modern-day connectivity between separate applications. An API or application programming interface is nothing but a medium through which two different pieces of software or two individual websites can interact with each other. As the world is steadily shifting towards a digital outlook, more and more modern industries have begun to embrace APIs.

One of the industries that have embraced APIs is the media and publishing industry. Gone are the days when newspapers were the main source of information for people. With the use of mobile devices becoming prevalent, news APIs have become more important than ever before. A news API connects applications to news stories that have been published online.

Why News APIs Are Important

So, why are news APIs so important these days? Well, as mentioned before, people don’t rely on newspapers for information anymore; they mostly depend on one or two apps they use on their mobile devices for telling them what’s happening around the world.

Manually extracting data and enriching it for readers is something of a herculean task for the apps, which is why the process needs to be automated. What makes the process simple is something that extracts data from news websites automatically; a news API. However, news APIs do much more than just data extraction. They can analyze and enrich data as well, which makes them incredibly important for modern-day media and publishing houses.

There are generally three types of APIs that applications typically make use of to get their readers in touch with all the latest events and happenings around the world. The most common type is one that retrieves information from a particular news website. The second-most common type is one that retrieves a feed of headlines and other news stories, which all have links to the original posts and publications. The third type extracts structured data from various news websites.

How to Choose the Right News API

If you are in charge of an application that could be improved through the use of a News API, then here’s how to go about choosing the right one:

• Headlines or the Complete Analyses: If your app needs to give users just the headlines, then you can look for APIs that extract just the most important stories without going into too much detail. However, if detail is what your users demand, then you need APIs to extract information from websites that offer thorough analyses.
• Making the Extracted Data Work With Your Algorithms: Every app has its unique algorithm. The news API that you choose for your app should be one that can easily fit in the extracted data into your existing algorithm. It might be a complicated process to use additional tools to manipulate the API to work with your app’s algorithms.
• Ease for Developers on Your Team: At the end of the day, it’s the app developers who have to do all the dirty work behind the scenes for your app to be a hit with users. So you should ensure that the API being used is something that the developers like to work with.

News APIs are so important these days, that they can often be the difference between making and breaking your app, so choose yours wisely!

News Apis are so important these days, that they can often be the difference between making and breaking your app, so choose yours wisely!