Basic journalism
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.
Preparing for an interview
A journalist needs to be well-prepared when planning an interview. However, after all your research, try to keep the interview to three questions in order to avoid over-complication and confusion.
Spotting a news story
How does a journalist know when they are on the right track? What are the telltale signs that distinguish fact from fiction?
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.
Writing a radio news script
Radio journalists must write clear scripts that weave together compelling audio clips, ensuring listeners understand a news story's significance.
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.
Translation in journalism
If you are a journalist working in a multilingual society, you may have to work in more than one language.
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.
Producing a radio news bulletin
Crafting a radio bulletin is like serving a balanced meal: it must be nourishing, digestible, and leave your audience perfectly prepared for the day ahead.
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.
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...
Attribution and plagiarism
Producing a piece of original journalism involves uncovering facts that, had it not been for you, would have remained hidden.
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.
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.
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.
Clarity is as important as accuracy
Journalists must write clearly as well as accurately using accessible language that the audience can understand.
Grammar for journalists
Journalists need to observe important grammatical rules when writing news stories and avoid common mistakes that could confuse the audience.
Words that are frequently misused
It's essential for journalists to maintain precision in their use of language, especially when dealing with words that sound or look similar but which carry different meanings.
Clichés, journalese, and jargon
Journalists need to recognise and then avoid using journalese, jargon, and clichés. Their writing must be clear, easy to understand, and informative.
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.
The power of words
Journalists need to understand the power of using the right words when writing news stories
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.
Interviewing for video journalists
Tips about the steps a video journalist can take to enhance the quality of filmed interviews.