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General news from your local area is of interest to local press and radio, and can often be of interest to the wider circulating newspapers and magazines around the world - and with Courses Direct's Journalism course, you could be the one to provide it!
Discover the variety and diversity that comes with being a freelance journalist Our course will teach you how to come up with ideas that sell. You'll receive professional guidance from an experienced tutor, on making money from articles, features and news items. You'll also learn tips on approaching editors, presenting your articles and how to source work. We also teach you about reporting, interviews, features, writing for radio and multimedia, and much more! So, get started today and acquire the skills and knowledge that could set you off on a new and exciting career!
STARTING OUT
Deciding where and when to write and discover what makes a good journalist, including how to spot some of the most common problems of style and how to address them effectively.
WHAT IS NEWS?
Develop a strong news sense and recognise what makes a good story. Explore the practical process of news gathering, making contacts and identifying and following story leads. We look at opportunities for freelance contributions in the field of sports journalism.
WORKING AS A FREELANCE JOURNALIST
We explain freelance journalism - using specialist knowledge - and show you how to develop a professional attitude and build relationships between yourself, editors and publishers.
FINDING MARKETS
Explore the best start-up markets for new writers and learn how to research the markets needs. You also learn about market research and the importance of knowing your market.
REPORTING NEWS
In this section of your course you explore the opportunities for freelance news reporting and how to break into this difficult area of journalism.
STRUCTURING NEWS ARTICLES
The structure of news articles is different from feature articles. Learn how news articles are structured, practise writing news reports and consider key ethical issues that face journalists.
ARTICLE WRITING - FEATURES
To write effective feature articles - an important area of work for many freelance journalists - you need to know the process of planning and constructing.
ARTICLE WRITING - INTERVIEWS
A good interview technique can make an enormous difference to the information that interviewees give you, and also to the quality and substance of your writing. The key to this is developing active listening skills to get the information you require, without being offensive. We discuss how to set-up an interview, what to wear and what sort of questions to ask.
SELLING YOUR WORK
We give you a step-by-step guide to selling your work, finding the right angle, devising your saleable form, multiple angles, follow-up stories, using pictures with your work, selling features and articles, your cover letter, outlines, how to submit copy and how to find markets around the world.
WRITING FOR RADIO, MULTIMEDIA AND TELEVISION
Radio and multimedia are challenging and exciting forms for the writer, offering a range of interesting opportunities. We look at the requirements, explore markets in detail, and offer advice on how to develop articles for each. This module also explores freelance opportunities in television news and documentaries. You learn how to put news articles together and research the markets available for your material.
BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Human interest and personal experience stories make up a massive section of the freelance writer's potential market, so we explore the opportunities offered by biography and autobiography writing. Learn how to develop a personal interest story and how to get it into print.
WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Children are receptive and rewarding readers, able to immerse themselves totally in a subject or story in a way that few adults can. This has created a consistent demand for good quality children's articles and stories.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
We give you the vital preparation required to launch your freelance writing career, whether on a part-time or full-time basis. A questionnaire and detailed revision notes provide an opportunity to tie up any loose ends in your training, while businesslike advice about record-keeping and administration offers a firm foundation for a professional approach to future writing assignments.
