Practical Journalism
How to Write News
by Helen Sissons

This is a textbook about news journalists.

It's not a book for them though, as it's aimed at the very green, wet-behind-the-ears starter in the industry.

The 300-plus pages may be packed with vital hints, tips and examples of good practice and tricks of the trade – but a lot of what's on offer is also the staple diet of many similar books for A-level and undergraduate students straining at the leash to find out more.

Where Practical Journalism, How to Write News differentiates itself though, is its use of extended and wide-ranging interviews with key journalists.

They provide the key to the book, hold together its chapters on the art of journalism and provide the cement with which the young reporter can build their experience and careers.

The real-life experiences of people making a success of their media work will doubtless inspire beginners and quench their thirst for the excitement of the industry as a reporter.

Author Helen Sissons says: "Even here there are different varieties.

"You have the crime reporter of the metropolitan daily. The stories they cover will be a world away from those tapped into the screen of a staff writer at trade magazine Builder's Week or those of the online journalist for an activist website.

"You have the badly paid junior on a local weekly paper covering their first parish council meeting after a day writing articles from golden weddings to the hiring of a new lollipop lady to the closure of the sub post office.

"Their life is very different from the senior correspondent on a regional television station who covers one or two stories a day and may have a researcher working alongside."

Practical Journalism, How to Write News introduces the beginner to the skills needed to become a journalist.

It is written from the premise that (on the whole) journalists love what they do, Helen being told over and over again while researching the book that it's "one of the best jobs around", and how they were privileged to be involved in writing the "first draft of history". Cliched but true.

This book will help them do that accurately, effectively and in an appealing way.

It looks at what makes a journalist, how they can adapt for the digital newsroom, as well as the nature of news, what it is, finding it and dealing with press releases too.

Influences such as the law and the ownership of media are examined, as well as the best way to tell the story, although a list of common spelling mistakes and an extended section on apostrophe use surely means this book isn't aimed at undergraduates?

A long chapter on broadcast news and another on online journalism give a rounded feel to the book, and an essential chapter taking a close look at effective interviewing – including different types of interviews, how to prepare and how to tackle them – is a highlight.

Each chapter gives a summary of information, case studies, review (comprehension) questions, exercises and tips for turther reading.

There is also a gentle warning in the section "Is journalism for you?"

It reads: "Journalism is not a nine-to-five occupation.

"You've just logged out of your computer and are packing your bag when a call comes in to say there's a fire or siege or a riot and you are on your way. You are not home for dinner; you may not be home all night.

"The unpredictability of the work and the shift systems operated in many organisations can put a strain on personal relationships."

Maybe it's just a vocation…

Practical Journalism
How to Write News
by Helen Sissons
SAGE paperback £19.99 (ISBN 0-7619-4927-5)