With young journos living on starvation wages, a textbook has to be good to justify its £18.99 price tag – for the paperback version.

But Newspaper Journalism, A Practical Introduction, by award-winning journalist Susan Pape and journalism teacher Sue Featherstone is worth the cash – especially if you can claim it back on expenses.

Both authors have bags of provincial newspaper experience and know exactly what is needed to help both the junior thrown out of the office to sit on his first parish council meeting, to the more experienced hack looking to brush up his legal knowledge after a period away from court.

There are not many trainees who start work on a newspaper straight from school or university. Most have gone through some sort of media training before they face their first day behind a reporter’s desk.

Susan and Sue’s eminently practical guide makes no assumptions – and starts from scratch.

As well as guides on how to report courts and councils, the book offers tips on how to carry out interviews, how to write both news stories and features and how to make and keep contacts – as well as a section on the journalists role in society.

The tips are backed with real life examples from journalists working on provincial newspapers.

A worthwhile read – and not just for the latest newshound to join the press pack.

Newspaper Journalism – A Practical Introduction, By Susan Pape and Sue Featherstone is published by Sage (ISBN 0761943293), Cloth £60 – paperback £18.99.