The universal journalist

This is a new edition of the world's leading textbook on journalism. Translated into more than a dozen languages, David Randall's handbook is an invaluable guide to the "universals" of good journalistic practice for professional and trainee journalists worldwide. Irrespective of language or culture, good journalists share a common commitment to the search for truth, often in difficult circumstances. David Randall emphasizes that good journalism isn't just about universal objectives: it must also involve the acquisition of a range of skills that will empower journalists to operate in an industry where ownership, technology and information are constantly changing. This acclaimed handbook challenges old attitudes, procedures and techniques of journalism where they are seen as cynical and sloppy. This fully updated edition contains scores of new anecdotes and examples, drawing on the author's own experience as a national newspaper reporter and columnist. --Publisher description

1. What Makes A Good Reporter?: Attitudes -- Character -- A great reporter -- 2. The Limitations of Journalism -- Owners' priorities : The journalistic culture -- Readers' values -- 3. What Is News?: What is news? -- News values -- News value factors -- A sliding scale for stories -- Beauty and news values -- 4. Where Do Good Stories Come From? -- The habits of successful reporters -- News editors -- Non-obvious sources -- Stories that good reporters avoid -- 5. Research: What you should be looking for Where to get it -- Researching online -- Printed sources -- Research as a foreign correspondent -- 6. Handling Sources, Not Them Handling You -- Guidelines for dealing with any source -- Official sources -- Handling unauthorised sources -- Unattributable sources 'off the record' -- Getting too close to sources -- 7. Quesioning: How to approach people -- The most useful questions in journalism -- Questioning uneasy sources -- Questioning elusive, evasive and hostile sources -- Questioning by email -- Press conferences -- Celebrity interviews -- 8. Reporting Numbers and Statistics -- Questioning data -- Averages -- Distribution -- Percentages -- Per head -- Surveys -- Opinion polls --…