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.

sub-editor and reporter working on a story. Image created with Gemini AI

The roles of reporters and sub-editors

Streamlined newspaper workflows with minimal editing benefit reporters and sub-editors, ultimately enhancing publication quality.
Image of a journalist researching created using Imagen 3 - created by David Brewer of MHM

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.
Image by Paul Brennan released under Creative Commons

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.
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.
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
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.
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 courtesy of Gerlos and released under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0

Spotting a news story

How does a journalist know when they are on the right track? What are the telltale signs that distinguish fact from fiction? 
Graphic for pitching a news story created with Gemini AI

Pitching a news story to an editor

Every great piece of journalism starts with a pitch — and how you pitch can make the difference between being published or being rejected.
Image by Upwardly Global released via Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

Preparing for a job interview

Some suggestions for journalists preparing for a job interview.
Image by Tessa Kavanagh from Pixabay

Translation in journalism

If you are a journalist working in a multilingual society, you may have to work in more than one language.
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.
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Content released under Creative Commons

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