Basic journalism

Our basics section provides foundational knowledge for journalists starting their careers and for those wanting to refresh their skills. Learn techniques including news writing, interviewing, story structure, and reporting practices that form the bedrock of quality journalism. All our material is free to download, adapt and use. Scroll down our site map for all the content in this and other sections.

Passive and active voice graphic by Anders Behrmann

The active and passive voices in news

Make your news writing more interesting by using the “active voice”. Bob Eggington explains this simple and effective technique.
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Creating a structured news report

Writing news without a plan is like building a kit without instructions. Use a structured story plan to order facts logically and engage your readers.
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Interviewing politicians

Master political interviews: learn to navigate scripted lines and handle evasive answers to ensure you uncover the facts the public needs to hear.
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Crime reporting for beginners

Crime journalists must balance the public’s right to know with ethics, ensuring accuracy and sensitivity while avoiding sensationalism or prejudice.
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News sources and the ‘so what’ factor

Every news story needs at least one reliable source that is able to share information that helps the journalist get to the facts.
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Grammar for journalists

Journalists need to observe important grammatical rules when writing news stories and avoid common mistakes that could confuse the audience.
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What editors look for when hiring

What's the best preparation for a career in journalism? Media Helping Media asked some experts in the field what they look for when hiring staff.
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Interviewing for video journalists

Tips about the steps a video journalist can take to enhance the quality of filmed interviews.
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Attribution and plagiarism

Producing a piece of original journalism involves uncovering facts that, had it not been for you, would have remained hidden.
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Unlock your journalistic potential

The following is a collection of tips for journalists starting off in the job. It's been compiled from advice shared by senior journalists around the world.
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In journalism, good writing is plain writing

The purpose of news writing is to convey meaning clearly and effortlessly by using precise, comprehensible, and easily digestible words.

Developing news sense

How do we know what is news? There are millions of things going on in the world all the time and only some of them become news stories.
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