The Universal Journalist

David Randall

Description

'Easily the best introduction to being a reporter' - Press Association

This is the only 'how to' book on journalism written by writers and editors who have operated at the top level in national news. It has long been the go-to book of advice for young reporters.

This edition includes a chapter on social media and is extensively updated throughout, with new content from Jemma Crew, an award-winning national news journalist. The book emphasises that good journalism must involve the acquisition of a range of skills that will empower trainees to operate in an industry where ownership, technology and information are constantly changing.

This handbook includes tips and tricks learned from working at the very top of the business, and is an invaluable guide to the 'universals' of good journalistic practice for professional and trainee journalists worldwide.

Acknowledgements

Preface

1. Journalism in an Age of Social Media

2. What Makes A Good Reporter?

3. The Limitations of Journalism

4. What Is News?

5. Where Do Good Stories Come From?

6. Research

7. Handling Sources, Not Them Handling You

8. Questioning

9. Reporting Numbers and Statistics

10. Investigative Reporting

11. How to Cover Major Incidents

12. Mistakes, Corrections and Hoaxes

13. Ethics

14. Writing News and Features

15. Intros

16. Construction and Description

17. Handling Quotes

18. Different Ways To Tell A Story

19. Comment, Intentional and Otherwise

20. How To Be A Great Reporter

Reading for Journalists

Index

Sujets

• Journalists
• Media Studies
• Social Science
• Industries
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Breaking news
• Textbook
• Journalist
• Writing
• Journalism
• Industrie

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 mars 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780745343297
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Universal Journalist

‘Easily the best introduction to being a reporter’ Paul Jones, PA Media

‘What I admire about this book is that it is not simply a “how to” manual, it is also a wise, witty and extremely entertaining read. Anyone who aspires to be a journalist should read it’ Dame Ann Leslie,Brîtîs Journaîsm Revîew

‘Packed with handy hints and anecdotes ... An essential, down-to- earth guide to what the job is all about’ Press Wîse Buetîn

‘The go-to guide for any up and coming journalist, shining a light on every element of the job in an engaging, insightful way. And with the likes of social media and data covered too, it’s also a compelling read for the established reporter’ Peter Clifton, Editor-in-Chief, PA Training

The Universal Journalist

Sixth Edition

David Randall with Jemma Crew

First published 1996 Sixth edition published 2021 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA

www.plutobooks.com

Copyright © David Randall 1996, 2000, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2021

The right of David Randall and Jemma Crew to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN ISBN ISBN ISBN ISBN

978 0 7453 4326 6 978 0 7453 4325 9 978 0 7453 4329 7 978 0 7453 4328 0 978 0 7453 4327 3

Hardback Paperback PDF eBook Kindle eBook EPUB eBook

Typeset by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England

To te memory o JOHN MERRITT, te best reporter ï ever met.

Acknowedgements Preace

Contents

x xi

 1. Journalism in an Age of Social Media 1  Journalism and social media: the reality – Building your brand – Twitter as a news source – Social media and public opinion – How to survive being trolled – Coronavirus, misinformation and social media – Thinking time – Filter bubbles  2. What Makes a Good Reporter? 14  Attitudes – Character – Getting the right start  Pane: How to împress edîtors  3. The Limitations of Journalism 30  Owners’ priorities – The journalistic culture – Readers’ values  Pane: Crîme reportîng  4. What is News? 41  What is news? – News values – News value factors – A sliding scale for stories – Beauty and news values – Fake news – A word about good news  5. Where Do Good Stories Come From? 55  The habits of successful reporters – Getting out and about – News editors – Non-obvious sources – Other productive areas – Stories that good reporters avoid  Pane: Humanîtarîan crîses  6. Research 70  What you should be looking for – Where to get it – Researching online – Printed sources – Research as a foreign correspondent  Pane: Researcîng a eature

t h eu n i v e r s a lj o u r n a l i s t

 7. Handling Sources, Not Them Handling You 85  Guidelines for dealing with any source – Official sources – Handling unauthorised sources – Unattributable sources ‘off the record’  8. Questioning 97  How to approach people – The most useful questions in journalism – Questioning uneasy sources – Questioning elusive, evasive and hostile sources – Questioning by email – Press conferences – Big name interviews  Pane: ïntervîews tat caenge te subject’s îmage  9. Reporting Numbers and Statistics 120  Questioning data – The uses and abuses of statistics – Averages – Distribution – Percentages – Per head – Surveys – Opinion polls – Correlation – Projections – Real versus apparent rise – Probability – Phoney science 10. Investigative Reporting 141  What is investigative reporting? – Productive areas to investigate – Investigative reporting skills – Computer literacy – How to run investigative operations – Going undercover 11. How to Cover Major Incidents 155  Case history: Hurricane Katrina, 2005 – How to make sure your coverage of a disaster doesn’t turn into one – Death tolls – The death call – Professionalism under pressure  Pane: Dîsaster reportîng rom mutîpe sources 12. Mistakes, Corrections and Hoaxes 168  Mistakes – How should you respond to mistakes? – Great newspaper hoaxes 13. Ethics 182  General guidelines – Grey areas – Privacy – Paying for information or an interview  Pane: A îtte etîca dîemma

viii

c o n t e n t s

14. Writing News and Features 198  Planning – Clarity – Fresh language – Honesty – Precision – Suitability – Efficiency – Fluency – Revision – Is writing for online different to writing for papers and magazines? – The joys of writing  Pane: Te wrîtîng braîn 15. Intros 226  How to write sharp intros – Hard news approach – Other approaches – A word about feature intros  Pane: ïntros and te vaue o detaî 16. Construction and Description 243  Construction guidelines – Analysing story structures – Payoffs – Attribution – Description  Pane: An eary esson în descrîptîon 17. Handling Quotes 261  When do you use quotes? – Accuracy – Efficiency – Attributing quotes – Inventing quotes 18. Different Ways to Tell a Story 272  Different approaches – Colour pieces – Backgrounders – Analysis – Vox pops – Shooting video 19. Comment, Intentional and Otherwise 279  Comment in news stories – The big I – Analysis – Obituaries – Leaders or editorial opinion pieces – Columnists – Reviews  Pane: Trave wrîtîng or grown-ups  Pane: Obîtuary news reports 20. How to Be a Great Reporter 294  Hard work – The application of intelligence – Intellectual courage – Meticulousness – Consuming appetite for books – A good knowledge of journalism’s past – Obsessive nature

Readîng or Journaîsts ïndex

ix

301 305