1. A Guide to the Basics of Journalism
By Mark Raygan E. Garcia
Director, Office of Information and Publications
Silliman University

2. Smart
Meticulous
Caring
Alert
Intuitive
Explorative
Risk-Taker

3. Smart
Meticulous
Caring
Alert
Intuitive
Explorative
Risk-Taker

5. Journalism is the activity of gathering,
assessing, creating, and presenting news
and information. (American Press Institute)

6. It is not just writing; it is writing with a
purpose and a goal.
Subject Writing Purpose Goal

7. Converting “passive”
knowledge to “active”
(information = action)
It connects, inspires,
facilitates reflection,
inclusion, and
decision-making.

8.  Accuracy
• Am I sure with my facts? Did I spell her name
correctly? Are these figures consistent?
 Brevity
• “She could have, if only she had, but she did not, so I
said no.” vs “She refused, so I said no.”
• “I think I have that feeling that renders my heart
skipping a beat on seeing you.” vs “I think I am in love
with you.”
 Completeness
• Being able to cover the different sides of the story, not
leaving the readers to guess what’s happening next.

9.  Purpose:
Why do I have to write about it?
 Content/Subject:
What do I write about?
 Timeliness:
When do I write about it?
 Focus:
Who am I writing for?
 Reach/Medium:
Where do I take/place my story?
 Relevance:
How will my readers benefit from it?

10. It infuses “meaning” into your writing.
It manifests a going concern, a passion
and an advocacy.
It encourages your readers to “own” the
article, to have a stake in it.
Ebola is a global crisis. “So what?” Collective
effort is needed to prevent its spread in the
Philippines. “So what?” Public cooperation is
needed.

11.  Conflict
Criminality
Eminence / Prominence
Newness / Nuance
Special Occasions
Achievements
Oddity
Not newsworthy,
unless person is prominent.
Newsworthy, regardless of
person’s prominence.

12. (source)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Inverted_pyramid_
2.svg/1201px-Inverted_pyramid_2.svg.png
Lead
Body
Summary

13.  Summary Lead
• Close to 30 health workers who attended a conference
were admitted in the hospital on June 5 after they
complained of stomachache.
 Question Lead
• Was it food poisoning?
 Quotation Lead
• “It was not food poisoning.”
 Staccato Lead
• It started with one. Then two. Later, there were already
30.

14. N otify
U nderstand
R ecognize’
S ubstantiate
E levate

15. Notify
Introduce yourself when interviewing. Don’t
shock your source with a story when all the
while she thought you were only trying to
have a conversation with her.

16. Understand
Do not force your interviewee to reveal
details that might be sensitive. Do not
reveal the name of your
source/interviewee if she seeks anonymity
in revealing “confidential” information.

17. Recognize
It is important to recognize your sources.
Ensure attribution. Statements that are in
opinion form can only be in a news story
when they are presented as a quote from
an interviewee.

18. Substantiate
A good news story is well-substantiated.
Explain as briefly as possible every critical
detail of the news story. Substantiation
may come in the form of a quote or
breakdown of facts/data in bullets. Your
readers are not mind readers.

19. Elevate
Elevate the story as an objective piece.
Get your emotions and personal opinions
out of the story -- they belong elsewhere.
Write in a way that your readers feel that
you are “talking” to them. Let your news
engage your readers.

20.  Clarify facts
 Watch out for mistakes in:
• Grammar (She did not knowing that she was
summoned to the office.)
• Tenses (I was at the office tomorrow.)
• Sentence structure (We are glad to receive you, so
are you.)
• Spelling (Bakak Obama)
• Punctuation (The panda eats, shoots and leaves.)