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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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Fact-checking and adding context

An essential part of the editorial process is to examine everything we are told to make sure it is factual.
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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.
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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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Words that are frequently misused

It's essential for journalists to maintain precision in their use of language, especially when dealing with words that sound or look similar but which carry different meanings.
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Preparing for an interview

A journalist needs to be well-prepared when planning an interview. However, after all your research, try to keep the interview to three questions in order to avoid over-complication and confusion.
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.
Interview training for radio journalism students in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, image by David Brewer of Media Helping Media

Introduction to interviewing

The interview is one of the basic tools of journalism. You cannot be a good journalist without being a good interviewer and a careful listener.
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Interviewing ‘off the record’

Journalists’ sources sometimes agree to talk only off the record.  Here we examine what that means and how to handle it when sources place...
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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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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.

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.
Image of an intervention in a council meeting - created using Imagen 3 by David Brewer of MHM

The evolution of an original news story

Behind every headline is a journey of persistence. This article shows how robust research and in-depth reporting are central to uncovering the complete story.
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