Tips
Talk to the people who matter
Don’t base your stories just on what officials and 'experts' say – talk to the people who are actually affected, they’re ... Full article
Active beats passive
Use active sentence structures - they generally have more impact than passive ones. The man shot the dog… rather than ... Full article
Tired words for tired minds...
Journalese is a language we use in place of real words when we are too rushed or too tired to care... Full article
Journalese is a language we use in place of real words when we are too rushed or too tired to care... Full article
Anecdotes as a come-on...
Kicking off a story with an anecdote before getting down to the nitty-gritty is a much loved but sometimes misused technique. Full article
Kicking off a story with an anecdote before getting down to the nitty-gritty is a much loved but sometimes misused technique. Full article
Obits are real stories...
Obituaries are among the most-read news items, so don’t ‘kiss them off’... Full article
Obituaries are among the most-read news items, so don’t ‘kiss them off’... Full article
Shape your story as you go
Right from the start, as you set out to report a story, think of how it might look in the end... Full article
Right from the start, as you set out to report a story, think of how it might look in the end... Full article
Columns are hard work...
The best columns are easy-reading – but they’re hard to write... Full article
The best columns are easy-reading – but they’re hard to write... Full article
Let the facts speak...
Adjectives are too often a lazy attempt to inject drama into a story. Use them sparingly. Let the drama speak for itself. Beware judgmental adjectives such as "hard-line leader" or " ... Full article
Adjectives are too often a lazy attempt to inject drama into a story. Use them sparingly. Let the drama speak for itself. Beware judgmental adjectives such as "hard-line leader" or " ... Full article