How to get the value of a checkbox jsp

I have this code in my HTML

<input type="checkbox" name="news" value="news">

How can i check if it is selected in the jsp file that the form send its data. I tried the code below but it shows me an error. When i say error i mean that it is going into my error page which does not say anything. JSP

String news = request.getParameter("news");

Is there any way to check it from my jsp?