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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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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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.
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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Why clarity and accuracy are vital in journalism

Learn why clarity is as vital as accuracy in journalism. Master SEO-friendly writing tips, avoid jargon, and improve audience understanding with our guide.
Interview training for radio journalism students in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, image by David Brewer of Media Helping Media

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.
Graphic for a Media Helping Media Training Tool

Tool: News story checklist

The follow is a structured checklist tool for journalists to consider in order to ensure they produce strong news stories.
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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.
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Fact-checking and adding context

Journalism is about far more than gathering information then passing it on. An essential part is to examine everything we discover to make sure it's factual.
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Developing important news angles

Seeking out new angles on a breaking, developing or running news story is an important part of the editorial process.
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Translation in journalism

If you are a journalist working in a multilingual society, you may have to work in more than one language.
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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.
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Letting the pictures tell the story

Here we explore the importance of visual storytelling in TV and video journalism, showing you how to let the pictures tell the story.
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