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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Attribution and plagiarism

Producing a piece of original journalism involves uncovering facts that, had it not been for you, would have remained hidden.
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Shoe-leather reporting

Digital noise is everywhere, but shoe-leather reporting - getting out and talking to people - remains a foundational skill for the modern journalist.
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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.
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
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.
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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: News story checklist

The follow is a structured checklist tool for journalists to consider in order to ensure they produce strong news stories.
TV newsroom in Bangladesh - image by Media Helping Media

Constructing a TV news package

Learn how to construct a TV news package, from research and filming to editing and scripting, with this step-by-step guide for new journalists.
Passive and active voice graphic by Anders Behrmann

The active and passive voices in news

Make your news writing more interesting by using the “active voice”. Bob Eggington explains this simple and effective technique.
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.
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.
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What editors look for when hiring

What's the best preparation for a career in journalism? Media Helping Media asked some experts in the field what they look for when hiring staff.
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