(listicle)

The field of journalism is really competitive, but it’s very important to society. If you’ve been bitten by the journalism bug, then you definitely want to do your best to be successful in this field. I guess that with a bit of hard work and a great attitude, you can be a good journalist. After looking through hundreds of tips of ‘bearded journalists, who went through the fire and water,’ I chose a number of those guidelines which are the closest to me heart.

Write every day. Journalism consists mostly of writing, whether it’s an article or live-tweeting a story. You need to be a strong writer who has a voice, and the way to get practice. Daily writing allows you to get your practice and helps build your confidence, which is key to succeeding as a writer.

• Keep a journal or log of your activities.
• Start your blog and offer your assistance to friends and folks by completing writing tasks for them and your self-promotion. For example, create a short newsletter for your club or church.

Build your grammar skills. You need to be able to proofread and edit your writing so that you can produce clean copy. Use a spellchecker to avoid misspellings, and proofread to make sure that you don’t have any typos. Make sure any revisions and edits are made to the article, but check to ensure that your word processor does not show any comments or changes.

Use sample texts to help you develop new skills. Find articles that you like and try to write your own article in a similar way. This is called using a mentor text. Your mentor text serves as a model for how an article should be written.

Be speedy and accurate. Journalists have a quick turn-around time between assignment and deadline. Think about how fast news is reported after it happens. To be a good journalist, you need to be able to meet your readers’ expectations by producing speedy and correct work.

Get feedback on your writing. Ask people you trust to check your writing and offer their critiques. If you can get a teacher or tutor to help you, then take advantage of their knowledge base to help you improve your writing skills. While it might be hard to have your writing criticized, it’s necessary if you want to grow as a writer.
Form good relationships with others. Some of your best sources of information will be people you meet. Be open to meeting new people and hearing what they have to say. They may be a source, or they might give you a good idea about a story lead. The more people you’re connected to, the easier it will be to find a source for your story.
Network with other journalists. Learn new skills and find opportunities by reaching out to other journalists. Don’t just limit yourself to people you meet. Look up your journalist idols and reach out to them. You can network both in person and through correspondence, such as email or social media.
Apply for internships. Both paid and unpaid internships are available in journalism. If you don’t need the money, then an unpaid internship might be a great way for you to get experience without any competition. Paid internships are competitive, but you’ll be getting paid to do what you love.