JOURNALISM WRITING WORKSHOPS

The course commits journalists to writing clear, concise and accurate breaking news stories, topped by attractive headlines and clear lead paragraphs. Clients choose the subject matter. The course is biased towards active learning, asking participants to write their way through a series of breaking stories, but it also addresses the needs of reflection, theory and pragmatic learners.

Journalism skills addressed during the course

1. •News judgment
   

2. •Cultivating sources and obtaining exclusive stories
   

3. •Handling news releases
   

4. •Interviews
   

5. •Developing clear story structures
   

6. •Writing accurate, balanced stories quickly with solid context
   

7. •Writing good leads and headlines
   

8. •Knowledge of legal dangers
   

9. •Handling rumours and hoaxes
   

10. •Clarity in English writing
    

11. •Building plans to use in the event of a major story break.
    

Course Objectives 

After completing the course, participants can expect to be able to:

1. •Provide a well-written file of stories over a number of days
   

2. •Demonstrate solid news judgment and discuss cover with a newsdesk
   

3. •Improve quotes from polished interviews
   

4. •Participate in a team covering a major news event
   

5. •Report a speech from television.
   

6. •List principles of good writing and common errors learned during the course
   

7. •Explain complex issues in readily understood language
   

8. •Explain how layering improves the delivery of complex information
   

9. •Write clear, concise copy of appropriate length
   

10. •Avoid formulaic writing by eradicating jargon and unnecessary acronyms
    

11. •Use headlines, keywords and golden quotes to hook readers quickly
    

12. •Improve the use of context to explain the significance of a news event
    

13. •Tighten stories by eradicating tautology, clauses, adjectives and adverbs
    

14. •Deploy an accuracy checklist before filing stories.
    

Course Outline

The course simulates a newsroom handling a flow of general news events, including at least one major breaking story, underlining the need for good news editing, reporting and writing to create a polished file covering numerous story angles. Some events stimulate discussion on practical coverage, safety, legal requirements and ethical decisions. The course demands practical classroom written work to increasingly realistic time deadlines, based on the breaking story, interweaved with facilitated discussions on technical terms, news judgment and writing approaches. It includes an introduction to legal dangers, the importance of note taking and sourcing requirements. Journalists are expected to use feedback from copy coaches to improve story structures, deliver tighter writing and inject better context into the evolving story. Reviews then offer participants facilitated discussions to extract learning points from the output of all writers, including trainer versions, to build better writing checklists for use after the course. Emphasis can be placed on website writing requirements.

Terms explained during the course

Style guides, handouts, listening skills, the reliable notebook, media monitoring, journalism safety and trauma, human interest, brights, news in brief, picture captions.

Pre-course work

Pre-course reading, learning agreements and a short evaluation to establish existing knowledge of story structures and journalism methodology.