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.

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.
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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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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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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.
Journalism Roles - reporters and sub-editors. A MHM graphic

The roles of reporters and sub-editors

The professional working relationship between news reporters and sub-editors is a crucial factor for ensuring quality control and the speed of production.
Graphic of a construction kit and instructions created using Google Gemini AI

Creating a structured news report

Writing news without a plan is like building a kit without instructions. Use a structured story plan to order facts logically and engage your readers.
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The questions every journalist should ask

There are six questions that journalists should consider asking. They are What? Why? When? How? Where? and Who?
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Interviewing for video journalists

Tips about the steps a video journalist can take to enhance the quality of filmed interviews.
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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Grammar for journalists

Journalists need to observe important grammatical rules when writing news stories and avoid common mistakes that could confuse the audience.
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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.
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News sources and the ‘so what’ factor

Every news story needs at least one reliable source that is able to share information that helps the journalist get to the facts.
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