Basics

In this module on language and style from The News Manual, we look at the words you use to tell your story. We see how important spelling is and how to avoid causing confusion with the words you choose.

When it comes to writing - not just news writing but any kind of writing - adjectives and adverbs have a bad reputation.

There is a fine art to interviewing politicians. You need to understand their motivation, realise they will have a script, not allow them to complicate matters, refuse to be sidetracked, and retain an open mind.

Putting together a radio news bulletin is like preparing a satisfying meal that leaves your audience nourished and prepared for the day; what you produce has to be balanced and digestible.

Style differs from sentence construction (syntax) in that it cannot be quantified; it has no precise rules. This is inevitable because style is concerned not so much with the mechanics of English as with the manner in which the writer uses language to play on the sensations of the reader.

Reporting on court hearings is an essential part of journalism. It requires an understanding of local laws and knowing what can be reported and what can’t.

A journalist needs to have a broad interested in the world around them and want to find things out and share their discoveries with their readers or listeners. They must have a love of language, written or spoken, understand the meaning and flow of words and take delight in using them. 

This is a short training module setting out the basics for creating a news package for radio. It's been created for those starting out in radio journalism.