Basics

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.

Unlock your journalistic potential

A journalist must learn the house rules of the media organisations they are working for. All will have a set of guidelines and a style guide. But here are general tips about starting off in journalism.

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.

Attribution and plagiarism

The importance of attribution and avoiding plagiarism.

Journalistic roles and responsibilities

Journalism involves many tasks that requires a wide variety of skills. We look at some of the jobs journalists do.

Parliamentary reporting for beginners

To cover parliament, a journalist needs to know local laws, understand parliamentary procedure, and know about the politicians and the political parties.

Crime reporting for beginners

Journalists reporting about crime must balance the public's right to know with ethical considerations, ensuring accuracy, fairness, and sensitivity

How to succeed as a journalist

Journalists should be accurate, first with news, trusted, easy to understand, straight, aware, disciplined and realistic.

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