Basic journalism
Tool: News story checklist
The follow is a structured checklist tool for journalists to consider in order to ensure they produce strong news stories.
Translation in journalism
If you are a journalist working in a multilingual society, you may have to work in more than one language.
Creating TV and radio packages
Discover how to create concise, compelling TV and radio packages that capture audience attention and deliver key information effectively.
Journalism and the public interest
All news stories should, by definition, be interesting. They should immediately capture the attention and make the audience want to know more.
Introduction to interviewing
The interview is one of the basic tools of journalism. You cannot be a good journalist without being a good interviewer and a careful listener.
News writing for beginners
A journalist writing a news story is the author, organiser and decision maker. Without them the story may never be told.
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.
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.
Language and style – basics
Learn how to write clear, impactful sentences for better understanding and discover why choosing the right language is essential for your readers.
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.
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.
Grammar for journalists
Journalists need to observe important grammatical rules when writing news stories and avoid common mistakes that could confuse the audience.
Creating a structured news report
Writing a news item without a plan is like building a kit without instructions. You need a structured story plan to order your facts logically and engage readers.
What is takes to be a journalist
Journalists should be accurate, first with news, trusted, easy to understand, straight, aware, disciplined and realistic.
The power of words
Journalists need to understand the power of using the right words when writing news stories
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.
Covering a news event
Check our news event coverage guide with tips on preparation, on-site reporting, ethical interviews, and capturing compelling photos and video.
Fact-checking and adding context
An essential part of the editorial process is to examine everything we are told to make sure it is factual.
Citizen reporting to citizen journalism
This article was written for a group of young citizen reporters from remote rural communities in Zimbabwe who were learning how to become journalists.
Shoe-leather reporting
Digital noise is everywhere, but shoe-leather reporting - getting out and talking to people - remains a foundational skill for the modern journalist.
Interviewing ‘off the record’
Journalists’ sources sometimes agree to talk only off the record. Here we examine what that means and how to handle it when sources place...
Assessing news value
The job of the journalist is to sort through daily events and package them into stories in order to inform the public.