Essential Reporting: The NCTJ Guide for Trainee Journalists Jon Smith
- Times Higher Education
"Precisely what it says on the cover - a down-to-earth essential handbook for anyone embarking on a career in journalism. All you need to know about avoiding newsroom minefields and attracting the editor's attention for the right reasons. If only it had been around in my day!'
- Bob Satchwell, Executive Director, Society of Editors
Although the world of journalism is changing fast, as technology blurs the boundaries between newspapers, radio, television and web-based media, the reporter's core role remains the same: to recognise news, communicate with people, gather information, and create accurate, balanced and readable stories. Essential Reporting, written by an experienced NCTJ examiner, explains how to do this. Contents include:
- what makes a good reporter
- what is news, and how to find it
- how newsrooms work
- day-to-day life as a reporter
- key reporting tasks
- covering courts and councils
- successful interviewing
- writing news stories
- specialist reporting
- handling sound, pictures and the web
It also contains a wealth of advice, tips and warnings from working journalists, a guide to NCTJ training and examinations, a glossary and a guide to further reading.
It will be invaluable to anyone embarking on a career in journalism and is the NCTJ's recommended introductory text for all students on college and university courses preparing them to become successful reporters.