Basics

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.

An image of a journalist writing on a computer - image by Google Gemini AI

In journalism, good writing is plain writing

Developing and applying news sense

Language and style – basics

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.

Image by U.S. Department of Agriculture released via Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0

Interviewing politicians

Master the art of interviewing politicians: learn to handle scripts, stay on track, know your subject, and avoid losing your cool.

Image by David Brewer released via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

Clarity is as important as accuracy

Journalists must write clearly as well as accurately using accessible language that the audience can understand.

Image of a journalist researching created using Imagen 3 - created by David Brewer of MHM

SIFT for fact-checking

Journalists who are committed to fact-checking, as we should all be, have several methods available to help them deal with fake news.

Grammar for journalists

Journalists need to observe important grammatical rules when writing news stories and avoid common mistakes that could confuse the audience.

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.