Here is a brief summary of some of the important skills for journalists. These are the skills that are taught in many entry-level college journalism classes. Having a good understanding of these fundamentals will help any writer decide if they want to pursue this type of writing.
Steps1Learn to write with the “5W’s”: who, what, where, when, why and how. They are the building blocks of every news story.
2Organize the story: Get busy and organize the story after you write the lead. This includes adding the interview quotes, writing the story in the inverted pyramid, along with the other items mentioned here.Advertisement
3Write the main part of your story in the inverted pyramid style. This is where the most important news appears at the top and less important points follow in descending order. This is the format used for most news articles since the least important part of the story can be cut if necessary (usually if there is a timelier story or a new advertisement is sold).
4Add the lead to your story. Leads are typically one or two sentences and 30-50 words total. The lead should summarize the entire article so the reader can decide if they want to read the entire contents.
5Stay timely and make a bigger impression on readers. Immediacy is how recently the event happened. Impact is the effect a story will have on reader’s lives. The bigger the impact, the bigger the story. News judgment is the ability to determine which stories are most interesting and important to that publications’ readers.
6Use quotes: Learn the direct quote first (someone’s exact words). This is where you get word-for-word information from a good source who you can cite. A partial quote is where you just use part of a direct quote. A paraphrase is the reporter’s summation of source’s words.Problems to avoid in using quotes include: dull, obvious quotes and quotes that echo a previous statement; quotes used as leads; a string of quotes run in sentence after sentence; curse words in quotes; and distortion of quotes.
7Understand on the record: Try to make sure that your source will agree to let you quote them. This is on the record. Off the record is where the source knows about the subject but does not want his or her name used.An example would be during the Watergate scandal, “deep throat” was a high ranking government official who did not want to lose his job (or worse).Using an off-the-record source is not acceptable in many newsrooms. If that is all you can get, try to get another person who is familiar with the story to confirm the information (and who will let you cite them).
8Understand open versus closed-ended questions: Get familiar with open ended questions, they are often the best. They are designed to get the source to talk freely and reveal thoughts and feelings. Examples include: what is your philosophy of sports? What thoughts were going through your head the first time you rescued a drowning swimmer?Closed-ended questions can be answered either “yes” or “no” without further explanation; used to confirm information, but not very effective for many interviews. Softball questions: Easy, non-controversial queries aimed at developing a rapport with the source and helping them to relax.
9Understand active vs. passive voice: Active voice is the way most people talk. Active and passive voices refer to the relationship between the subject and the verb. In an active sentence, the subject is doing something.In a passive sentence, the subject does nothing; it is acted upon. The active voice makes your writing stronger and livelier, and is the style that is used in most news articles. Examples: The girls ate the pizza. (active) vs. The pizza was eaten by the girls.
10Detach yourself as a writer by using third person in most of your articles. An example of third person writing: “this reporter conducted the research.” A first person phrase would be: “I conducted the research.” Try writing in the third person as much as possible in journalistic writing.
11Don’t attempt plagiarism! This is where someone tries to pass off the words or ideas of others as their own (without attribution). The main danger for many reporters is when they copy directly from the Internet (even if they cite the Internet source, they should re-write in their own words).
12Avoid “reporter’s opinion.” Don’t pick favorites (or complain about something without explaining the good points also). Report the story honestly and accurately and let the readers decide. Sometimes bias includes the failure to present both sides of an issue fairly; or by manipulating facts to sway readers’ opinions. Avoid this.Advertisement
