What skills do journalists need?
Let's start at the beginning: you need to be able to write. Not school essays, not poems, not diary entries – but news stories and feature articles. You'll need to learn how to put your reader's needs first and structure stories for publication. You'll have to write to deadline and to a specified length, and be able to edit stories for style and length.
You'll need to know how to research stories. Journalism is about reporting on what's happening now or will happen in future. By the time a story gets into print, it's old news. Academics rate the printed word highly, but as a journalist your best research tools will probably be the telephone and the web insofar as that helps you find people to interview.
You'll also need to be able to generate story ideas. You'll need to learn what interests your audience and how to find new stories they want to read before they even realise they want to read them.
To write and research stories easily, you'll need to understand your subject. If you're a specialist writing about a particular subject, you'll need to know the lingo and be able to use it correctly and you'll need to be able to provide context to your story by filling in relevant background.
This is an excerpt from the ebook 'Journalism Careers: Your questions answered' by Sean McManus. These excerpts have been chosen for their relevance to school students.The whole ebook includes advice on picking university courses, vocational training, and how to succeed as a freelancer. It's equally suitable for students planning their future career and mid-life career changers looking to make a move now.