Workshop: The importance of clarity in news

Clarity equals understanding. If we write clearly, our readers will understand. We will always be accurate, of course, but we will always be clear with it.

This workshop is presented in two formats, both using the same source material from Media Helping Media.

The content is based on the article For journalists, clarity is as important as accuracy, which provides essential guidance on using clear, accessible language in news reporting to ensure full audience comprehension.

The first is a two-hour workshop designed for those who are already familiar with the topic but who would like to deepen their understanding. The second is a four-hour, half-day workshop for those who are new to the topic.

Trainers are invited to select the format that best meets the needs of those they are training.

Workshop outline 1: Two-hour session

09:00–10:00 – Session 1: The essentials of clear and concise writing

• Aims:
  • To identify and eliminate language that hinders clear communication, such as clichés and unnecessary words.
  • To understand the importance of choosing short, simple words and why jargon should be avoided to improve accessibility for all audiences.
  • To learn how to use adjectives and adverbs effectively to add meaning, rather than relying on them for mere emphasis.
• Presentation:
  • Clarity vs. accuracy: The trainer presents the core concept: journalists must write clearly as well as accurately, using accessible language that the audience can understand.
  • The problem with clichés: Trainer provides a short presentation on clichés and hackneyed expressions, explaining that they distract the reader and weaken the message.
  • Short words are best: Trainer presents the principle of using short words for maximum impact and clarity.
  • Effective use of adjectives and adverbs: Trainer explains that these parts of speech should describe or modify in order to add information or refine meaning, not to imply emotion or serve as redundant emphasis (e.g., ‘grieving relatives’ is often redundant; simply ‘relatives’ is clearer). See Adjectives and adverbs in journalism.
• Activity:
  • Cliché replacement exercise: Trainees are given a list of five common journalistic clichés (e.g., “swiftly moving target,” “at the end of the day,” “going forward”). In pairs, they must rewrite each sentence containing the cliché using simple, direct language. The trainer collects examples and leads a brief discussion.
  • Redundant word hunt: Trainees are given a short news story (approx. 100 words) containing unnecessarily long words and excessive adjectives/adverbs. They must simplify the text by replacing long words with shorter synonyms and removing any descriptive words that do not add essential information.
• Discussion:
  • Audience comprehension check: A group discussion led by the trainer on how the use of clichés and overly complex language affects the audience, especially those for whom English may not be their first language. Discuss the ethics of accessibility.

10:00–11:00 – Session 2: Precision and avoiding ambiguity

• Aims:
  • To identify commonly misused or misleading verbs and phrases in news reporting.
  • To apply accurate, straightforward language when reporting on business, politics, and statistics, ensuring genuine fairness and transparency.
  • To learn how seemingly harmless word choices can carry unintended suggestions or introduce bias.
• Presentation:
  • Commonly misused words: Trainer leads a presentation focusing on problematic words and phrases identified in the source material:
    • That: Explain how removing ‘that’ can mislead or confuse the reader in parts of a sentence.
    • Target: Explain its overuse as a verb and how to replace it with more accurate words (e.g., attacked, bombed).
    • Impact: Stress that it should be used as a noun, not a verb, and suggest alternatives like ‘affected’ or ‘harmed’.
    • Warn/claimed: Explain that ‘warn’ must take an object and why ‘said’ is often the straight, unbiased option, contrasting it with ‘claimed’ which suggests disbelief.
    • Reporting on power and business: Trainer highlights the critical difference between public relations (PR) and journalism, using the examples of political statistics (e.g., “unemployment fell during party X’s time in power” vs. “party X reduced unemployment”) and corporate language (e.g., ‘investing’ vs. ‘speculating,’ ’employing’ vs. ‘creating jobs’).
• Activity:
  • Rewriting for precision: Trainees are given five sentences containing the common misuses (e.g., using ‘impacted’ as a verb, using ‘claimed,’ or an example of a supermarket ‘investing’). Trainees must rewrite these sentences to be accurate and neutral.
  • PR vs. journalism challenge: The trainer presents two short press release excerpts—one political/statistical, one corporate/financial. Working individually, trainees must re-draft the excerpts to remove PR language and replace it with strictly factual, journalistic wording to ensure impartiality.
• Discussion:
  • Why words matter: Discussion on how precise word choice upholds journalistic integrity and protects against unconscious bias. Discuss the ethical requirement to report news, not promote governments or businesses.
• Assignment:
  • Trainees must take a news article of their choice (local or international) and review it for clarity and precision. They must identify at least five instances of potentially unclear, imprecise, or cliché language and rewrite those sections, providing a brief justification for each change based on the principles discussed in the workshop.

Materials needed for the workshop:

• Handouts summarising clear writing principles and common linguistic pitfalls.
• Short articles or excerpts with deliberate clarity and precision issues.
• Research resources (internet or printouts).
• Copies of common clichés and a list of the source article’s key words to avoid.

Assessment:

• Participation in discussions and activities.
• Quality of revised sentences and excerpts.
• Application of clarity principles in the take-home assignment.

Summary

This two-hour session provided a focused, practical guide to immediate improvements in journalistic writing, emphasising clarity and precision over jargon, cliché, and promotional language. The core objective remains ensuring that accurate reporting is delivered through language that is fully accessible and easily understood by the audience.

Workshop outline 2: Four-hour session

09:00–10:00 – Session 1: The foundations of clear and concise language

• Aims:
  • To introduce the fundamental principle that clarity is equally important as accuracy for audience understanding.
  • To understand why journalists must use accessible language and avoid specialised vocabulary.
  • To identify and eliminate poor writing habits, specifically clichés and redundant phrases.
• Presentation:
  • Clarity: a matter of ethics: Trainer explains the importance of using accessible language for the audience. Define clarity: The quality of being easily understood, free from ambiguity, and straightforward in expression. Explain that clarity is essential for a journalist’s duty to inform.
  • The power of simplicity: Trainer presents the advice to use short words and avoid clichés.
  • Jargon: Define jargon (specialised or technical language used by a particular group) and explain why avoiding it is crucial for a broad audience. Introduce the concept of “unnecessary complexity.”
• Activity:
  • Jargon busting & simplicity: The trainer provides a list of common jargon words from a specific field (e.g., politics or economics) and asks trainees to replace them with simple, everyday language. Example: ‘leverage’ becomes ‘use’ or ‘influence.’ Trainees work in small groups and share their replacements for peer review.
  • Cliché audit: Trainees are given a long list of clichés and must rate them from 1 (rarely used) to 5 (overused/hackneyed). They then select the five they personally use most often and commit to avoiding them, discussing alternatives with a partner.
• Discussion:
  • The impact of unclear language: A discussion on the barrier that complex language creates between the news and the audience. Discuss specific examples of how jargon can alienate or confuse.

10:00–11:00 – Session 2: Controlling descriptive and connecting language

• Aims:
  • To master the effective and restrained use of adjectives and adverbs to refine meaning.
  • To understand and correct common grammatical or usage issues that cause temporary confusion.
  • To ensure all descriptive language serves a factual purpose, maintaining a professional distance.
• Presentation:
  • Adjectives and adverbs: Trainer reviews the advice that these should describe or modify to add information. Provide the example: ‘grieving relatives are relatives’—the description is often unnecessary and can imply emotion the journalist should avoid stating as fact.
  • The word ‘that’: Detailed instruction on the proper use of ‘that,’ noting its absence can sometimes mislead or confuse a reader for part of a sentence. Show examples where ‘that’ is helpful and where it is redundant.
  • Labels and loaded language: Trainer presents the list of labels to think twice about using (warlord, hardman, guru, mastermind, etc.). Explain that if a descriptor is used (e.g., ‘respected’ or ‘defiant’), the journalist must tell the reader by whom the person is respected or what/who is being defied.
• Activity:
  • Adding value: Trainees review three short paragraphs. They must critique the use of adjectives/adverbs, removing those used for unnecessary emphasis and identifying two places where a precise adjective/adverb would genuinely clarify or add essential fact, not emotion.
  • Labels and specificity: The trainer provides sentences using the ‘labels’ (e.g., “The strongman took power…”). Trainees must rewrite the sentences, replacing the label with specific, factual titles and actions, forcing them to be specific about the source of the person’s power.
  • Discussion:
    • Removing bias from description: Group discussion on how unnecessary emotive language can introduce bias. Focus on the importance of letting the facts, not the journalist’s choice of words, carry the emotional weight.

11:00-11:15 – Break

11:15–12:45 – Session 3: Precision in contentious topics

• Aims:
  • To identify and correct commonly misused power verbs that carry unintended meaning or PR (public relations) spin.
  • To learn how to report on statistics and corporate actions with integrity, avoiding language that promotes businesses or political parties.
  • To analyse phrases that remove responsibility and how to rewrite them for clarity and accuracy.
• Presentation:
  • Misused action verbs: Focus on ‘Target,’ ‘Impact,’ ‘Warn,’ and ‘Claimed.’ Provide concrete examples of incorrect usage and the specific, simple verbs that should replace them (e.g., ‘affected’ instead of ‘impacted’). Reiterate that ‘claimed’ suggests disbelief and ‘said’ is usually superior.
  • PR vs. news reporting: This is an expanded session on the core difference between PR and journalism. Use the examples provided for:
    • Politics/statistics: Comparing “Party X reduced unemployment” (promotional) with “unemployment fell during party X’s time in power” (factual).
    • Business: Explaining that ‘investing’ with $50 million is ‘speculating,’ and ‘creating 300 jobs’ is ’employing 300 people.’ Discuss the context of multinational companies relocating for cheap labour.
    • Avoiding excuses: Presentation on the phrase “was forced to.” Explain that this often removes personal or institutional responsibility. Give examples: “If my car breaks down, I am not forced to walk,” and “If a politician changes tack because it is politically expedient, it does not mean he was in any way forced.”
• Activity:
  • Corporate translation: Trainees are presented with two short press releases (one political, one corporate) loaded with PR language (e.g., “Company X is investing to proactively impact the region’s economy going forward”). Trainees must rewrite the full text, applying all principles discussed, translating the promotional language into accurate, plain journalism. This ensures transparency and helps maintain privacy by not inadvertently boosting a company’s profile without factual merit.
  • Sentence surgery: Trainees receive 10 sentences with misuses of ‘impact,’ ‘warn,’ ‘claimed,’ or ‘was forced to.’ They must rewrite each sentence to ensure correct usage and maintain fairness and factual accuracy.
• Discussion:
  • Ethical reporting: Discuss the ethical requirement to resist pressure from groups (corporate or political) attempting to manipulate or bias reporting. Discuss how accurate language is the first line of defence against manipulation. Discuss sensitivity when reporting on potentially controversial or offensive topics (reiterating the need for guidelines covering offence).

12:45–13:00 – Session 4: Review and assignment

• Aims:
  • To consolidate the key lessons on clarity and precision.
  • To provide an actionable next step for immediate application of the learned principles.
• Presentation: What have we learnt
  • Trainer leads a quick-fire round, asking trainees to name the three most important words or phrases to avoid, and the three most important actions for clear writing.
  • Reiterate the central lesson: Clarity is not just a style choice; it is a core component of accuracy and ethical journalism.
• Discussion:
  • Feedback and questions: Open discussion for trainees to ask final questions and for the trainer to seek feedback on the pace and content of the workshop.
• Assignment:
  • Trainees must select an article they have recently written (or one from their news organisation) and complete a full clarity audit. They must identify at least ten instances of: 1) jargon/cliché, 2) misuse of ‘power words’ (impact, claimed, target), and 3) promotional or ambiguous language. They must rewrite the entire article, removing all issues and submitting both the original and the revised version with a brief reflection on their biggest learning point.

Materials needed for the workshop:

• Handouts summarising clear writing principles, common linguistic pitfalls, and the PR vs. journalism comparison.
• Short articles and press releases with deliberate clarity and precision issues for analysis and revision.
• Research resources (internet or printouts).

Assessment:

• Participation in discussions and activities.
• Quality of rewritten excerpts during Session 3 and peer review contributions.
• Quality of the final revised article and the accompanying reflection statement in the assignment.

Summary

This four-hour session provided a comprehensive grounding in the journalistic principle that clarity is as important as accuracy. By focusing on common pitfalls in language—from simple clichés to complex promotional terms—trainees are now equipped to write content that is precise, accessible, and ethically sound.

Related material

Clarity is as important as accuracy

Lesson: Clarity is as important as accuracy