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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Reporting from conflict zones

When reporting from a conflict zone a journalist needs to be sensitive, understand history and cultural issues, and put people first
Image of woman interviewing a man courtesy of Pexels and released via Creative Commons - image from cottonbro

Developing and handling news sources

News sources are vital for journalists to find essential stories. Without reliable information, reporters would be left staring at a blank page.
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Grammar for journalists

Journalists need to observe important grammatical rules when writing news stories and avoid common mistakes that could confuse the audience.
Image by Tessa Kavanagh from Pixabay

Translation in journalism

If you are a journalist working in a multilingual society, you may have to work in more than one language.
Image of an editor correcting a reporter's copy - created using Imagen 3 by David Brewer of MHM

Why some news stories are rejected

There will be times when a news story is withheld from publication, we look at why, what changes might be needed, and how to make sure a story is ethical and legally safe.
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Journalism and the public interest

All news stories should, by definition, be interesting. They should immediately capture the attention and make the audience want to know more.
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Using the right words

Words are the essential tools of journalism. They convey meaning and help the audience understand the issues we are covering. So they need to be used properly.
Radio training Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Image by David Brewer released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

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.
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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.
Graphic for pitching a news story created with Gemini AI

Pitching a news story to an editor

Every great piece of journalism starts with a pitch — and how you pitch can make the difference between being published or being rejected.
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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.

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.
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