In times of conflict, bias in journalism is a way to dismiss news and views that people disagree with. Here’s a different way to think about things.
Last year, I joined a WhatsApp group for a political movement called Rise Mzansi.
Continue readingCategory: Journalism How to be a good journalist
Tools of journalism: An ode to the contact book
There was a time when a journalist’s contact book was their most precious asset. Of all the lost arts of journalism it’s probably the one I miss most, because of what it symbolised.
One of the projects I’ve been working this year is a tech build for Quote This Woman+ (QW+).
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A guide to writing styles: Part 1- journalism
Writing is everywhere. And there are different styles of writing in different formats – how to know when to use what? Let’s start with journalism.
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When journalism gets stressful
If everyone suffers from information overload these days, spare a thought for the stressed journalists who filter that information for you…
When a South African woman stood trial in New Zealand for killing her three young children, I did not read any of the reports about it. I could not avoid seeing the headlines, but I could choose not to click on any of them. I just couldn’t see how dipping my mind into that awfulness did anybody any good.
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A Beginner’s Guide for Journalists: Taking Notes
Taking notes is one of journalism’s most obvious and yet most under-rated skills. Here are some tips to making the most of that interview…
My grandmother was a Pitman’s shorthand teacher. Both my mother and her sister could do Pitman’s at the drop of a hat. I tried to learn it (and still have my grandmother’s precious textbooks) but somehow it never took hold.
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How to find a free picture
If you run a blog, or do social media posting for yourself or for your company, you are often going to need a picture (or pictures) to illustrate your work.
If you are lucky, you may have access to images from your organisation’s photographers, or to an agency service.
But if you are not in a big organisation, you will need to find your picture somewhere else. Continue reading
Step-by-step: How to tell if a news article is reliable
It is now a cliché that there are floods of false social media reports (or claims, or posts, or videos, or recordings) about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
My personal favourite? The video in which a Ukrainian pilot nicknamed “The Ghost of Kyiv” in a MIG-29 shoots down a Russian SU-35. Turns out the footage is from a video game.
Continue reading
How to be a good journalist
Tools of journalism: An ode to the contact book
There was a time when a journalist’s contact book was their most precious asset. Of all the lost arts of journalism it’s probably the one I miss most, because of what it symbolised.
One of the projects I’ve been working this year is a tech build for Quote This Woman+ (QW+).
Continue readingA guide to writing styles: Part 1- journalism
Writing is everywhere. And there are different styles of writing in different formats – how to know when to use what? Let’s start with journalism.
Continue readingWhen journalism gets stressful
If everyone suffers from information overload these days, spare a thought for the stressed journalists who filter that information for you…
When a South African woman stood trial in New Zealand for killing her three young children, I did not read any of the reports about it. I could not avoid seeing the headlines, but I could choose not to click on any of them. I just couldn’t see how dipping my mind into that awfulness did anybody any good.
Continue readingA Beginner’s Guide for Journalists: Taking Notes
Taking notes is one of journalism’s most obvious and yet most under-rated skills. Here are some tips to making the most of that interview…
My grandmother was a Pitman’s shorthand teacher. Both my mother and her sister could do Pitman’s at the drop of a hat. I tried to learn it (and still have my grandmother’s precious textbooks) but somehow it never took hold.
Continue readingHow to find a free picture
If you run a blog, or do social media posting for yourself or for your company, you are often going to need a picture (or pictures) to illustrate your work.
If you are lucky, you may have access to images from your organisation’s photographers, or to an agency service.
But if you are not in a big organisation, you will need to find your picture somewhere else. Continue reading
Step-by-step: How to tell if a news article is reliable
It is now a cliché that there are floods of false social media reports (or claims, or posts, or videos, or recordings) about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
My personal favourite? The video in which a Ukrainian pilot nicknamed “The Ghost of Kyiv” in a MIG-29 shoots down a Russian SU-35. Turns out the footage is from a video game.
Continue reading