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.

Journalist writing at a typewriter in army fatigues. Image created with Gemini AI

Militaristic words used in journalism

Explore common militaristic terms in journalism, their meanings, and non-militaristic alternatives to help soften your tone and improve clarity.
Image by pixy.org released via Creative Commons

The questions every journalist should ask

There are six questions that journalists should consider asking. They are What? Why? When? How? Where? and Who?
Image by Chrispen Tabvura released via Creative Commons CC BY 2.0

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.
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 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 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.
The inverted pyramid in journalism

The inverted pyramid

The inverted pyramid model puts key news first, followed by supporting details, with the least important background information at the base of the article.
Image by woodleywonderworks released under Creative Commons

Attribution and plagiarism

Producing a piece of original journalism involves uncovering facts that, had it not been for you, would have remained hidden.
Man writing on notepad. Image by NegativeSpace released via Creative Commons

Adjectives and adverbs in journalism

When it comes to writing - not just news writing but any kind of writing - adjectives and adverbs have a bad reputation.
Image by melfoody released via Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.00

Parliamentary reporting for beginners

To cover parliament, a journalist must master local laws, procedure, and political parties, backed by a solid grasp of history.
Photo of woman reading newspaper by Photo by Abhijith S Nair on Unsplash

Assessing news value

The job of the journalist is to sort through daily events and package them into stories in order to inform the public so they can make educated choices.
Radio training workshop in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Image by David Brewer

Where does news come from?

The job of the journalist is to uncover the stories that shape our understanding of the world. Here we look at what makes news.
Load more

Hosted by the Fojo Media Institute

Fojo logoMedia Helping Media is hosted by the Fojo Media Institute at Linnaeus University.

Follow Media Helping Media on Facebook

MHM on FacebookCheck our Facebook page for regular updates from Media Helping Media.

Content released under Creative Commons

Creative Commons logoThe content on Media Helping Media (MHM) is released via Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0.