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.

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Developing and handling news sources

News sources are vital for journalists to find essential stories. Without reliable information, reporters would be left staring at a blank page.
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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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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.
Editor and journalist discussing an article - image created with Gemini AI by MHM

How to turn editorial feedback into a journalistic win

Learn how freelance journalists can use editorial feedback as a career boost. Master the edit, build trust with editors, and secure more commissions. For freelance...
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The power of words

Journalists need to understand the power of using the right words when writing news stories
Journalists in Vietnam attending training on finding the human angle in news stories - Image by David Brewer

Including the human angle in news

For news organisations to succeed, they must attract and retain audiences. The human touch is vital for building trust and engagement.
Mobile journalism training Harare, Zimbabwe. Image shared via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

Citizen reporting to citizen journalism

How young citizen reporters in Zimbabwe learnt how to move beyond basic storytelling to produce journalism that truly informs the public debate.
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Court reporting for beginners

Learn essential court reporting tips for beginners, covering legal constraints, accuracy, and how to report trial verdicts fairly and professionally.
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Tool: MHM Story Builder

The Media Helping Media’s Story Builder is a simple tool created to help those who are new to journalism write informative news articles.
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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.
Radio training workshop in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Image by David Brewer

Issue-led journalism explained

Issue-led journalism reports on a public concern, using facts and context to show why it matters and how it affects people.

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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