News Writing Essentials: What Makes News and Writing Skills

Who, What, Where, When, Why – and How. Learn how to spot a news story and report it in a coherent and logical way

This four-hour news reporting course equips you to tackle news stories confidently so you nail the intro and include all the important information.

What you’ll learn: How news works and key writing skills

What makes a story news? How do reporters decide what to cover and where do they find stories? What determines which stories lead the news agenda or go viral? With insights from reporters and editors who are making the news, you’ll learn how journalists think and reveal the secrets of their decision making – helping you develop your own “nose for news”.

We’ll spend time considering the key principles and golden rules of news stories so you have a strong grasp of the fundamentals or can refresh your skills. We’ll walk you through the fundamentals of news writing – from the 5Ws and beyond – so that you’ll hone your ability to write engaging news stories and craft attention-grabbing introductions.

How you’ll learn

This two-module course will be led by an excellent trainer who will share their practical expertise through presentations, discussion and practical exercises – ensuring you have opportunity to reinforce your learning and test your understanding. You’ll receive feedback on your work from an experienced editor.

Who the course is for

This news reporting course is for you if you want to hone your news sense, refresh or build your practical news skills. You can follow it up with our News Writing Advanced course and we also offer a full-day version, News Writing Fundamentals: Write Stories with Impact.

BOOK FOR YOUR TEAM: The course will be tailored to your needs and can be delivered remotely or in your offices. Get in touch using the button below to discuss times and dates for bespoke training.

Course Modules

What Makes News

  1. What makes a news story
  2. News sources and demographics
  3. ‘Hard’ and ‘soft’ news
  4. Recognising fact and opinion
  5. Knowing your audience

News Writing Basics

  1. Story structure and the 5Ws
  2. Writing a good introduction
  3. Building out the body of the story
  4. How and where to use quotes
  5. Language usage in news
news reporting course: stack of newspapers

News Writing Essentials: What Makes News and Writing Skills

Who, What, Where, When, Why – and How. Learn how to spot a news story and report it in a coherent and logical way

Get in touch

What our students say

View all testimonials

I learned to write concise articles and features, while developing my skills in social media, interviewing sources, and producing stories for an increasingly online audience. The course has allowed me to start a full-time journalism career.

Jonathan Moynihan
, Social Media Producer
, Forces News

Not only did I develop the necessary toolkit to become a journalist, but I also did so in an environment that fosters a real sense of community and personal career support.

Erin Waks
, Trainee Sub-Editor
, Daily Mail

The staff truly go above and beyond, providing detailed feedback, a wealth of knowledge and many career opportunities. I’d recommend the course to any budding journalist. You’ll have fun, too!  

Erin Waks
, Trainee Sub-Editor
, Daily Mail

PA Media Training were efficient, well organised and genuinely lovely people to deal with and, importantly for us, able to provide flexibility around our needs to create the bespoke training we required. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them for further training or to recommend them to other organisations.

Mayor of London’s Press Office
, Head of Media

Being equipped with an NCTJ Diploma does massive favours for your future, and the skills the course taught me are ones I lean on every single day. The simple fact is, I wouldn’t be where I am without that course. 

Alex Barker
, Videographer & Presenter
, The Athletic

The methods and techniques you learn (and apply) on a daily basis through teaching, coursework and eventually exams crop up again and again in both job applications and jobs themselves – the course content is directly relevant to the realities of the industry. 

James Saunders
, Digital News Reporter
, GB News

Contact us

For more information , simply fill out the form and a member of our team will be in touch.