Basics

This section is for those starting off in journalism. The articles have been written by media professionals and cover all aspects of journalism including what makes news, how to write a story, how to develop a story and find new angles, interviewing tips, and how to fact-check. See our site map to scroll down the complete list of articles.

Graphic for a Media Helping Media Training Tool

Media Helping Media 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.

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

How to succeed as a journalist

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

Gazeta Lubuska Newsroom image by PawelJanczaruk released via Wikimedia Commons

Journalistic roles and responsibilities

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

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.

Radio production training in Jaffna, Sri Lanka by David Brewer shared via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

How to create a broadcast news package

Discover how to create concise, compelling TV and radio packages that capture audience attention and deliver information effectively.

Graphic of a construction kit and instructions created using Google Gemini AI

How to create a structured news report

This module was written for trainee journalists in Zimbabwe who were keen to learn how to produce in-depth video reports about life in their remote rural communities.

Image courtesy of Gerlos and released under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0

How to spot a news story

What are the telltale signs that help journalists distinguish fact from fiction, and how do they know when they have uncovered an important news story?

Naomi Goldsmith delivering gender training to female journalists in Tanzania

Gender equality in the media

The role of the journalist in rectifying gender imbalance in media is multifaceted, and it involves both individual actions and contributing to broader systemic change.