Professional Journalism Foundation

Develop essential journalism skills by asking questions with the five ws and h, digging deep for stories, and mastering language through reading, research, and careful editing for accuracy.

Know the law and conduct flawless research for every piece, cross-reference facts, and outline your story with a skeleton that includes articles, proposed headlines, sections, keywords, and interview targets.

Keep and file everything, from notices to sources, while guarding against biases and burnout to protect your journalism and professional integrity.

Professional journalism relies on a disciplined verification method to test information, seeking multiple witnesses and transparent evidence to safeguard accuracy and distinguish journalism from propaganda.

Explore the evolution and purpose of journalism codes, from early unbiased reporting to global information sharing, upholding truth, accuracy, independence, fairness, and accountability.

Explore codes of practice that guide ethical journalism across the united states, europe, and global professional bodies, highlighting standards of truth, fairness, integrity, independence, and accountability.

Explore how slander and libel considerations shape reporting, balancing private persons' privacy rights against public interest, and how public figures are treated differently in U.S. law and Canada.

Apply harm limitation by weighing the necessity and consequences of full disclosure, protect privacy, and report with compassion for those affected, following the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics.

Explore the journalist perspective on releasing unbiased factual news, examine external influences, and summarize the EU action plan with three notions to identify misinformation while upholding ethics and professional standards.

Explore variations, violations, and controversies in journalistic procedures across countries, highlighting libel and slander rules, accuracy as a core value, and the balance of speed and verification in broadcast media.

Explore how taste, decency, and acceptability guide journalism, balancing audience reactions to violence and taboo subjects with ethical standards, self-censorship, and the use of warnings or edits.

Explore how media campaigns in print and broadcast media shape opinion through editorials and opinion pieces, and examine how political endorsements raise questions of objectivity, favoritism, and conflicts of interest.

Research your topic using your technology skills by reading articles about Black Lives Matter to understand its mission and impact on elections, guiding your angle with other news sources.

Develop strong storytelling while grasping the business side of journalism by understanding industry economics, operating costs, and technology such as HTML5 and responsive design shaping news outlets.

Engage with your community beyond the article by going to them and interacting with the audience online to boost impact and reach.

Be strategic with media engagement: decide what to share, why, and your aim. Remember you are not alone; seek timing and messaging guidance from your media office.

Give journalists advance notice and plan your press materials, delivering a clear, plain English message in short words and sentences to grab their attention before deadlines tighten.

Explore how negative bias draws attention to and remembers negative events, distorting public perceptions of crime, and discover solutions journalism that pairs reporting of problems with solutions to counter bias.

Explore how the anchoring bias shapes public perception by first presenting extreme measures. Learn to report the negative impacts regardless of initial anchors.

Explore fading effect bias, memory for positive versus negative events, and miscaptioning in journalism, including outgroup bias and minority photo errors in newsrooms.

Explore how to find stories through in-person document research, everyday observation, and public feedback, uncovering accountability gaps and leads from courthouse records, billboards, and ATM complaints.