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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.

Boris Johnson interviewed by Anna Tsekouras 2014 - image by David Poultney released under Creative Commons

The power of quotes in journalism

Quotes can define an era, a person, or a story. Used thoughtfully, they transform reporting from factual to memorable, from clear to compelling.
Image by David Brewer released under Creative Commons

Writing a radio news script

Radio journalists must write clear scripts that weave together compelling audio clips, ensuring listeners understand a news story's significance.
An image of a journalist writing on a computer - image by Google Gemini AI

In journalism, good writing is plain writing

The purpose of news writing is to convey meaning clearly and effortlessly by using precise, comprehensible, and easily digestible words.
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.
Mobile journalism training Harare, Zimbabwe. Image shared via Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0

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.
Image by Silent Model TV released via Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 2.00

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.
Image of journalists at a Fojo Media Institute training session

What is news?

What is news? Beyond facts, it’s the stories that truly matter to people. Explore why human interest and personal relevance are at the heart of every headline.
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.
Radio production training Jaffna - image by Media Helping Media

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.
The reference books used to create this page - image by David Brewer of MHM

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.
Image by pixy.org released via Creative Commons

The questions every journalist should ask

There are six questions that journalists should consider asking. They are What? Why? When? How? Where? and Who?

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.
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