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.

Passive and active voice graphic by Anders Behrmann

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.
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.
Image to illustrate an off-the-record briefing created by Gemini AI

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...
Journalism training in Africa. Image by David Brewer shared via Creative Commons

What is takes to be a journalist

Journalists should be accurate, first with news, trusted, easy to understand, straight, aware, disciplined and realistic.
Image by Hans and Carolyn released under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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.
Image by Paul Brennan released under Creative Commons

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.
Graphic for email interviewing created with Gemini AI

Interviewing remotely

Here we explore the key issues journalists face when interviewing sources via electronic media instead of face-to-face and in real time.
Graphic for a Media Helping Media Training Tool

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.

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.
Image by David Brewer released under Creative Commons

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.
Naomi Goldsmith delivering gender training to female journalists in Tanzania

Gender equality in the media

Addressing gender imbalance in media requires a multifaceted approach from journalists, combining personal initiative with essential systemic change.
Gazeta Lubuska Newsroom image by PawelJanczaruk released via Wikimedia Commons

Journalism’s roles and responsibilities

Journalism demands a diverse skill set across various roles. Explore the different tasks and career paths available to modern journalists in our guide.
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