"If you haven't grabbed the readers' attention within the first 10-12 words, you lose them."

Saffron Howden's job is training journalists how to write news for Australian Community Media. She sees news journalists as storytellers dealing in facts, who need to always be thinking about their audience. In this episode, she offers tips on the craft of writing a strong news story.  

"Focus on...the thing people are going to care about. And keep it simple."

WORK MENTIONED:

https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/8279201/licence-to-kill-2-million-roos-emus-culled-to-protect-humans/

"If you haven't grabbed the readers' attention within the first 10-12 words, you lose them."
Saffron Howden's job is training journalists how to write news for Australian Community Media. She sees news journalists as storytellers dealing in facts, who need to always be thinking about their audience. In this episode, she offers tips on the craft of writing a strong news story.  
"Focus on...the thing people are going to care about. And keep it simple."
WORK MENTIONED:
<a href="https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/8279201/licence-to-kill-2-million-roos-emus-culled-to-protect-humans/">https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/8279201/licence-to-kill-2-million-roos-emus-culled-to-protect-humans/</a>

Learning Through Listening: Lessons in audio from some of the best audio journalists in the world, hosted by Louisa Lim from the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.

Learning Through Listening: Lessons in audio from some of the best audio journalists in the world, hosted by Louisa Lim from the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne.

Learning Through Listening:   Lessons in audio fr…

The Masterclass Podcast

Learning through listening: Lessons in journalism from some of Australia's best reporters, hosted by Louisa Lim from the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne

Learning through listening: Lessons in journalism from some of Australia's best reporters, hosted by Louisa Lim from the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne

S03E04: Saffron Howden on Writing News Stories

“What makes you different from your peers who also want to get a job in journalism?

ABC audio producer and digital reporter Wing Kuang is an expert at turning a disadvantage into an asset. Having first come to Australia as an international student, she encountered a lot of barriers to finding a job as a journalist.

She says that community radio provided important opportunities to develop her skills and build a portfolio, and that it was ultimately her social media presence that led to her first job.

“Tweeting had become my only way to make myself known.”

WORK MENTIONED

https://allthebestradio.com/featured/500-retrospective-vanishing-voices/

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/days-like-these/wing-vs-the-machine/101916326

“What makes you different from your peers who also want to get a job in journalism?
ABC audio producer and digital reporter Wing Kuang is an expert at turning a disadvantage into an asset. Having first come to Australia as an international student, she encountered a lot of barriers to finding a job as a journalist.
She says that community radio provided important opportunities to develop her skills and build a portfolio, and that it was ultimately her social media presence that led to her first job.
“Tweeting had become my only way to make myself known.”
WORK MENTIONED
<a href="https://allthebestradio.com/featured/500-retrospective-vanishing-voices/">https://allthebestradio.com/featured/500-retrospective-vanishing-voices/</a>
<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/days-like-these/wing-vs-the-machine/101916326">https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/days-like-these/wing-vs-the-machine/101916326</a>

S03E12: Wing Kuang on Starting a Career in Journalism

“The minute I walk into that space, I turn my audio ears on.”

ABC broadcaster Kirsti Melville is an award-winning radio documentary maker, who always starts planning for an audio feature by thinking about sound. Melville describes how she triages the audio in any recording environment, and how she works with sound to create immersive and impactful storytelling.

"I often talk about it in quite filmic terms. Think about it in terms of small close-up sound and broader, wider sound that creates a scene."

WORK MENTIONED

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/earshot/102676508

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/the-ghosts-of-wittenoom---part-one/10635386

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/the-ghosts-of-wittenoom-part-2/10747390

“The minute I walk into that space, I turn my audio ears on.”
ABC broadcaster Kirsti Melville is an award-winning radio documentary maker, who always starts planning for an audio feature by thinking about sound. Melville describes how she triages the audio in any recording environment, and how she works with sound to create immersive and impactful storytelling.
"I often talk about it in quite filmic terms. Think about it in terms of small close-up sound and broader, wider sound that creates a scene."
WORK MENTIONED
<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/earshot/102676508">https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/earshot/102676508</a>
<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/the-ghosts-of-wittenoom---part-one/10635386">https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/the-ghosts-of-wittenoom---part-one/10635386</a>
<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/the-ghosts-of-wittenoom-part-2/10747390">https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/earshot/the-ghosts-of-wittenoom-part-2/10747390</a>

S03E11: Kirsti Melville on Working with Sound

“Your voice is such a personal quality…It’s like your own aural fingerprint.”

As an ABC voice coach and journalist, Tamara Oudyn is shaping the diverse voices of the national broadcaster. Here she describes the lessons she teaches cadets, including the role of the 3ps - pitch, pace and pausing - in broadcasting. 

Her emphasis is on training young journalists to sound like themselves on air. 

“Authority comes from being comfortable in front of a microphone and knowing what you are on about.”

WORK MENTIONED

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/crime-pays-the-mystery-behind-why-we-love-crime-dramas/101742770

“Your voice is such a personal quality…It’s like your own aural fingerprint.”
As an ABC voice coach and journalist, Tamara Oudyn is shaping the diverse voices of the national broadcaster. Here she describes the lessons she teaches cadets, including the role of the 3ps - pitch, pace and pausing - in broadcasting. 
Her emphasis is on training young journalists to sound like themselves on air. 
“Authority comes from being comfortable in front of a microphone and knowing what you are on about.”
WORK MENTIONED
<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/crime-pays-the-mystery-behind-why-we-love-crime-dramas/101742770">https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/crime-pays-the-mystery-behind-why-we-love-crime-dramas/101742770</a>

S03E04: Saffron Howden on Writing News Stories

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