Basics

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.

Interview training for radio journalism students in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, image by David Brewer of Media Helping Media

Introduction to interviewing

Image by Upwardly Global released via Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

Preparing for a job interview

Image of an intervention in a council meeting - created using Imagen 3 by David Brewer of MHM

The evolution of an original news story

Man writing on notepad. Image by NegativeSpace released via Creative Commons

Adjectives and adverbs in journalism

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

The evolution of an original news story

Original journalism starts with a question. Our investigations transform enquiries into vital news stories with far-reaching consequences.

Developing and applying 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.

Image of a journalist researching created using Imagen 3 - created by David Brewer of MHM

Lateral reading

When it comes to fact-checking and adding context to news articles, journalists need to apply ‘lateral reading’ in order to broaden their knowledge.

Image by Brandon Anderson released via Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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.

Naomi Goldsmith delivering gender training to female journalists in Tanzania

Gender equality in the media

The role of the journalist in rectifying gender imbalance in media is multifaceted, and it involves both individual actions and contributing to broader systemic change.

Image by David Brewer released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

Clarity is as important as accuracy

Journalists must write clearly as well as accurately using accessible language that the audience can understand.

Image of a newsroom - created using Perplexity AI by David Brewer of MHM

Editorialising is not for news

The free training materials on Media Helping Media are all aimed at encouraging one particular kind of journalism: accurate, fact-based, impartial news reporting.