Four books to read to improve your writing as a journalist
You learn a lot about the mechanics of journalism simply by showing up and doing the work. A college education fast-tracked me through a lot of the grunt work young journalists learn through, but it’s certainly not necessary. Citizen journalists are cropping up a lot more with better access to platforms and publishing software, but similar to why you might not want to hire a citizen plumber or citizen doctor, passion is great, but skill and expertise is a requirement.
For budding journalists, who may have the mechanics down but are looking to find their footing, these four books are great read cover-to-cover or thumbed through while waiting for callbacks and emails.
1 — On Writing Well — William Zinsser
A classic. I keep this book on my desk and flip through it whenever I’m in a slump and it rarely takes more than a page or two to feel re-energized for reporting. Zinsser talks generally about writing, but style separates the stars from the hacks. Also, it’s just a pleasure to read and Zinsser’s examples are fine pieces of journalism.
2 — The Art and Craft of Feature Writing — William Blundell
For some, feature-writing comes naturally. I generally think it helps to read a lot of fiction, literary non-fiction, and long-form journalism. Blundell’s book not only discusses style but also how to form ideas and how to develop powerful features. Often, you’ll realize, the ho-hum story you’ve been agonizing to finish, will be just as, if not more, agonizing to read. Blundell examines the technical aspects of stories and how to brighten up seemingly dull material.
3 — The Elements of Journalism — Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenthal
An essential for the serious journalist. The Elements of Journalism is the 12 commandments of capital-J journalists. Less about style and all about substance. The book is the required reading for figuring out what it is a journalist is supposed to do. One of my absolute favourite tenets of journalism is to be a monitor of power, a voice to the voiceless, and committed to the capital-T truth.
4 — The Imperfectionists — Tom Rachman
An ode to a tough industry that is getting increasingly tougher. This isn’t a guidebook for style or substance, but it resonates with what it feels like to be a journalist. The book explores stories of staff at a once-rich but now faltering international newspaper outpost in Rome. The stories explore a bit of process, but the characters resonate as real people you’ll spend time with in newsrooms.
Bonus — A newspaper.
What surprised me really early on in my journalism career was how few journalism students and fledgling journalists followed the news. You don’t have to be a politics junkie but reading a lot of news is like exercise and eating right: it’s wholly good. Reading other reporters, especially good one, gives you some insight into what a good news story should look like. But even more important, it helps guide you to figure out what to write about, the more you read news, the more you get to know what grabs your attention.
I also like to read smaller local papers, and skim trade magazines every so often looking for stories to make my own for my own market.
