Off The Record

There are a few basic fundamentals of journalism which can be seen across all forms of media which create the cornerstones of great journalism.

For example, news stories presented by journalists have to always be written well, whether they are to be printed, presented online, via radio or on television. In print and online, news stories have to be easy to read and comprehend, which means that they have to be written using correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. Similarly, radio and television scripts have to be written well and allow sound effects or videos to tell a large part of the story itself. News should also most regularly follow the inverted pyramid structure, which puts the most newsworthy information at the start of the article, and the least newsworthy at the bottom. Through doing this, the article is written in a logical manner, with a good display of literacy skills. 

New stories cannot just be written in a belletristic manner, however; they need to have substance, and in order to obtain substance journalists need to take into account the news values presented in their stories. The most efficient way to be sure of having good substance is to have reliable, reputable sources – avoiding anonymous tips is essential, and all good journalists must be wary of accepting information that has been leaked or press released. Contacting the actual source of the information face-to-face, or at least by telephone, in order to interview them regarding the story is far highly important when deciding the accuracy of information. 

When interviewing individuals, it is important that they understand when they are and are not being recorded. This is done by telling the interviewee that they are ‘on the record’. If at any point during the interview, the interviewee says that something is ‘off the record’, the journalist cannot use the information provided. It is also important to restate that the interviewee is back on the record after this. When quoting interviews, it is exceedingly important to use the correct punctuation, lest the reader be confused about which interviewee said which part of the quote. 

“To correctly punctuate a quote, you must use speech marks, a capital letter at the start of the sentence, and either a full stop, comma, question mark or exclamation mark at the end of the quote, followed by closing speech marks.” 

With the inclusion of these journalism basics, even the least impressive writer can move a few steps closer towards writing hard-hitting, attention-grabbing, front-page-worthy news.