Basics

News writing for beginners

A journalist writing a news story is the author, organiser and decision maker. Without them the story may never be told.

Citizen reporting to citizen journalism

This article was written for a group of young citizen reporters from remote rural communities in Zimbabwe who were learning how to become journalists.

Unlock your journalistic potential

A journalist must learn the house rules of the media organisations they are working for. All will have a set of guidelines and a style guide. But here are general tips about starting off in journalism.

Constructing a news package for radio

This is a short training module setting out the basics for creating a news package for radio. It's been created for those starting out in radio journalism.

Letting the pictures tell the story

Letting the pictures tell the story is an important skill for TV journalists

Lateral reading

When it comes to fact-checking and adding context to news articles, journalists need to apply ‘lateral reading’ in order to broaden their knowledge.

Editorialising is not for news

The free training materials on Media Helping Media are all aimed at encouraging one particular kind of journalism: accurate, fact-based, impartial news reporting.

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.

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Journalists and politicians

Journalism is often referred to as “the fourth estate”, and is seen as being crucial to the functioning of a healthy and fair society.

Conflicts of interest

In journalism, public trust is essential for credibility. One of the most significant threats to that trust are the many possible conflicts of interest that might confront journalists.

Covering a tragedy – scenario

In this scenario we look at how a journalist should act when they witness a tragedy unfolding and have to decide whether to help, or to stand by and report.