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.

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

Lateral reading

Graphic for email interviewing created with Gemini AI

Interviewing remotely

Image by melfoody released via Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.00

Parliamentary reporting for beginners

Image by Allissa Richardson released via Creative Commons CC BY 2.0

Interviewing for video journalists

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

Image by Vladimir Khmelnytskyi released via Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Developing important news angles

Seeking out new angles on a breaking, developing or running news story is an important part of the editorial process.

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.

Image by Brandon Anderson released via Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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.

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.

Word Power graphic by Media Helping Media released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

The power of words

Journalists need to understand the power of using the right words when writing news stories

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.

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.