Hitting the newsroom running was the aim of two days of intensive training at the offices of Independent Newspapers in Cape Town.
Junior reporters spent two days with frayintermedia’s Michael Schmidt learning the tricks of the trade.
“This training is aimed at helping journalists who have just started out to find their feet in the newsroom. It enables interns and junior reporters to focus themselves in the newsroom by giving them organisational skills as well as basic writing tools and practical solutions to problems,” said Schmidt.
“The first day of the training is all about being an ‘organised reporter’. Time management is essential for a reporter – and teaching this to reporters entering the newsroom is very important. The course helps to identify how journalists can use ‘down time’ to their advantage.”
Schmidt said often young journalists were overwhelmed when they found themselves in a panic as deadlines loomed, but having the skill to work at a steady pace, to plan ahead and to be able to focus ensured better reporting.
“It is important to instill good work-plan ethics in young journalists who are just starting out. Not only does it stand them in good stead in years to come, but it also helps to focus the mind when tackling stories – regardless of how simple or complex,” he said.
The second day of training focussed more on writing skills. “This part of the course primarily deals with how to properly plan a story, how to map all your sources, decide on the best sequence of conducting your interviews and gathering photographs and documents and how to ensure the story flows logically,” said Schmidt.
“This is all about giving new journalists the right tools to focus on the job. It is about being able to hit the newsroom running with very clear ideas on how to tackle stories, how to break them down into logical parts and how to put them back together again in a tight, readable format that their news editors just cannot resist.”
Find tips for junior journalists here.
