• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Daily Business Magazine

A magazine complement to the Daily Business website

  • Life, Arts & Leisure
    • Creative
    • Festival
      • Festival Reviews
    • Film
    • Food & Drink
    • Stage Shows
    • Life
    • Leisure
      • Rio Recommends – dog walks and cafes
    • Homes
    • Style
    • Travel
  • As I See It
  • Interviews
  • Notebook
  • Working Life
    • Careers & Management
    • Finance and legal
    • Technology
      • Tech Talk
    • Well Being
  • Daily Business News
    • All Content

40 years in journalism… what have I learned?

September 1, 2020 by Terry Murden Leave a Comment

Terry Murden

I’ve just marked my 40th anniversary as a journalist. It’s been an interesting journey.

I won’t dwell on stories, anecdotes and incidents that may or may not be of interest. Maybe another time. There are certainly some wrong ‘uns that need to be put straight.

Instead, and especially for any youngsters considering a career in journalism, I’ve compiled a list of 10 guiding principles that I’ve picked up and tried to adhere to over the years:

Be sceptical, but not cynical. Don’t be an apologist for those who tell lies or make excuses.

Be prepared to be disliked. No one should become a journalist to win the popularity stakes. Influencers are not journalists.

Be patient. Not easy in the quick-fire world of social media. But take time to check, ponder and re-assess. It will pay off in the end.

Be willing to sacrifice style and flamboyance for simplicity and accuracy. Great writing means nothing if it is based on false information.

Be thorough, do your homework and know your subject. It may not win you friends, but it will earn you respect.

Be respectful and impartial, even towards those with opinions and behaviour that are not to your liking. You may learn something.

Be honest with yourself and your publisher. Don’t exaggerate and never mislead.

Be available. News never sleeps, or takes a holiday. If you hesitate, you’ll lose.

Be a journalist not a salesman. Don’t allow yourself to promote other people’s goods and services. Remember the old adage that news is generally about things people don’t want you to publish – all else is advertising.

Be a listener. The journalist who does all the talking never gets the story.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Working Life

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar



Editor’s Pick

ebt and credit card

How to better manage payments to suppliers

Craig Alexander Rattray

… [More...] about How to better manage payments to suppliers

Office working

Why vaccine passports are a route back to ‘normal’

Terry Murden

… [More...] about Why vaccine passports are a route back to ‘normal’

Russell Dalgleish

Get ahead by being a market disrupter

Russell Dalgleish

… [More...] about Get ahead by being a market disrupter

Craig Alexander Rattray

How to ease the scourge of late payments

Craig Alexander Rattray

… [More...] about How to ease the scourge of late payments

Advertising


Footer

  • All Content
  • Site Map
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • WordPress

Copyright © 2021 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in