(Writing Small Stories With a Big Impact.)

As my work began to reach viewers in other countries, I was surprised to receive messages from people who didn’t speak Portuguese yet somehow connected with the essence of what I was showing. That was when I realized: Good storytelling doesn’t belong to one nation. It belongs to everyone who feels something when they encounter truth.

Today, with digital media erasing borders faster than we can define them, every writer and journalist faces the same question: Will my story speak beyond where it was born?

Over two decades as a journalist, TV hosts and book promoters have taught me that four universal themes carry across every culture and every language: identity and belonging, change and transition, hidden voices, and cross-cultural communication.

Identity and Belonging: The Pulse of Every Story

No matter where we live, the longing to belong is what makes us human. In Rio’s favelas, I’ve interviewed young artists who used music and graffiti to claim visibility in a city that often forgets them. Their lyrics and colors said what words could not: We are here. We matter. That desire to be seen, to be counted, to have one’s story recognized resonates in every corner of the world.

When we write, it’s tempting to over-generalize in the hope of reaching everyone. But paradoxically, the more specific we are, the more universal we become. A grandmother’s accent, a childhood street, a recipe handed down for generations. Those are the details that make readers thousands of miles away feel the pulse of their own childhoods.

Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club is a masterclass in this. Its Chinese American mothers and daughters are so distinct, so rooted in their own textures like the smell of sesame oil, the mahjong tiles clicking, yet the longing for understanding between parent and child feels as close as our own living rooms.

When I write or broadcast, I remind myself: Specificity is a form of empathy. It’s how we tell our readers, “I trust you to enter my world.”

Change and Transition: The Engine of Every True Story

Every report I’ve ever filed begins with something in motion such as a system, a community, a person, or even a belief. Change is the constant heartbeat of storytelling, because everyone knows what it feels like to watch the ground shift beneath them.

Early in my career, I covered a small fishing town facing environmental collapse. The tides had changed, the fish were disappearing, and with them, a centuries-old way of life. On the surface it was an environmental story, but what stayed with me were the faces: an elderly fisherman teaching his grandson to mend nets they might never use again. That image—the transmission of knowledge in a vanishing world—was universal.

Change has many faces: social, economic, personal, even spiritual. When we frame it through human stakes, readers anywhere can relate.

Gabriel García Márquez did this in One Hundred Years of Solitude, chronicling the rise and fall of Macondo. Though the novel is deeply Colombian, the emotional truth of progress followed by nostalgia, abundance followed by loss, belongs to all of us. As nonfiction writers, our responsibility is to translate statistics into stories of transition. We interpret the rhythm of human adaptation while we inform.

Hidden Voices and Amplification—Why We Write at All

The greatest privilege of journalism is to hand the microphone to someone who’s never been asked for their story. Over the years, I’ve spoken with domestic workers, street vendors, and survivors of tragedy. Their courage taught me that dignity is something we reveal by listening well. In an era of social media noise, amplification can easily become exploitation. The key is listening without agenda, allowing people to narrate their experiences in their own cadence, with pauses, contradictions, and quiet strength intact.

When Katherine Boo wrote Behind the Beautiful Forevers, she didn’t merely “cover” Mumbai’s Annawadi slum, known for its extreme poverty against a backdrop of luxury hotels and the airport. Boo spent years with the people there, letting their words shape the story. That patience created something rare in the form of a book that reads like a novel but stands as meticulous journalism. Readers around the world embraced it because it was about persistence, a value shared across every culture.

In my own work, I think of amplification as a bridge. The goal is to make voices heard across divides.

Cross-Cultural Communication and Shared Humanity

I’ve reported in rooms where three languages are spoken at once, and yet emotion still travels faster than translation. Writing for a global audience is about translating your emotion into universally legible language. When I write a television script, I often pause to imagine how a viewer in another country would see it. Would they understand the tone? The stakes? The humor? If not, I add a line of context as an invitation.

Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens exemplifies this generosity. His language is scholarly yet clear; his metaphors simple but elegant. He trusts his global readers to think with him, not just read him. Data from BookBub’s global audience research shows that international readers gravitate toward stories that “balance specificity with accessibility.” That’s our challenge as nonfiction writers: to honor detail while ensuring that the emotion remains visible through translation.

Craft Lessons That Carry Across Every Border

• Lead with humanity. Facts inform the mind, but emotion transforms it.
• Context is compassion. A few sentences of background can turn confusion into understanding.
• Check for translation. Read your work aloud and imagine someone from another culture hearing it for the first time.
• Bridge voices. Bring together perspectives from different genders, classes, and regions. The more inclusive the narrative, the more truthful it feels.
• Verify, then universalize. Truth is the foundation; empathy is the architecture.

Will Your Story Travel?

A global-readership checklist:

1. Is it human first, local second? Emotion crosses borders faster than exposition.

2. Have you given enough context for an outsider? If a reader might not know a reference, add one orienting sentence. Context is compassion.

3. Are your details sensory, not symbolic? Universality lives in the senses.

4. Could it survive translation? Simplify without dulling the music.

5. Does it show change? Every universal story involves motion—something or someone evolving.

6. Do you feature more than one voice? Multiple perspectives broaden empathy.

7. Would someone in another time or country recognize the truth here? If it feels true beyond its coordinates, it’s ready to travel.

After decades of covering politics, art, and everyday resilience, I’ve realized that the global reader isn’t a stranger. They’re simply another human being looking for meaning in someone else’s story.

Whether I’m writing another book chapter, interviewing a lawmaker about governance or a young woman rebuilding her life after tragedy, I’ve learned that our differences only matter because they reveal what we share: fear, faith, hope, resilience.

Good storytelling is an act of translation between worlds. When we write beyond borders, we import empathy. And that, to me, is the highest purpose of storytelling: to make truth feel human everywhere.

The post Writing Beyond Borders: How I Learned to Reach a Global Audience With Storytelling appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(How to Take a True Event and Turn It Into a Compelling Story.)

The majority of editors I have worked with have a strict blanket policy denouncing it in all its forms, citing the need to maintain strict levels of journalistic integrity. “Once you start letting people change what you write to suit their own agenda, you may as well hand them full control,” one editor told me.

And it is a valid point. There is also the danger of overcomplicating matters. If you grant one party copy approval, in the interests of fairness you should offer every contributor the same privilege. If there are only one or two, there shouldn’t be much of an issue.

But imagine the article you wrote includes material from a dozen or more different sources, they all demand copy approval, and then they all want to amend the copy for some ambiguous (no doubt marketing-related) reason. That level of interference would send you right back to the drawing board. On one memorable occasion, a company asked me to re-write an entire feature because I had inadvertently placed one of their main competitors ahead of them in the copy, which in their view was tantamount to endorsement.

High-profile celebrities often let the media know in advance what topics they don’t want to discuss, and at the same time making clear the topics they DO want to discuss. I once interviewed Jason Statham for a magazine and was told in no uncertain terms that under no circumstances would he be discussing a certain actress with whom he had recently been romantically linked in the tabloid newspapers.

Some take it several steps further. I remember attending a press conference featuring the entire cast of the Avengers, and being quietly informed at the start that any question not specifically related to the topic at hand (i.e., the movie) was off the table and may lead to the journalist responsible being ejected from the venue. The next few minutes were a frenzied blur of panicked reporters hastily revising their notes.

You might think requests like this are perfectly reasonable, and in a sense you would be right. Yes, celebrities have media commitments but nobody should be expected to talk about things they don’t want to. But on this occasion and others like it, the result was every journalist in the room going back to their respective editors with slightly altered versions of what was essentially the same overly-sanitised article. That’s what happens when everyone is given the same answers to the same questions.

An old trick I learned is to save any potentially problematic questions until the end of the interview or press conference. That way, if sparks fly you already have enough material to write your article. However, by doing this you run the risk of burning your bridges and getting yourself removed from certain media lists.

One instance where copy approval is not only justified but recommended, is when you are writing about unfamiliar topics, or using material translated from another language. In the case of the latter, always have the content, and in particular any quotes, double checked and cross-referenced, preferably by actual people more attuned to a language’s complexities than an online resource.

Technical writing that perhaps contains a lot of numbers or calculations can also be a minefield, as it is very easy to get something wrong. All it takes is one misplaced decimal point. And if that happens, not only do you and the title you are writing for lose credibility, but you also lose the respect of the people you are writing about and they may never have anything to do with you again which can be very damaging to a freelancer when reputation is everything.

That said, errors and typos are much easier to correct in the modern age where the majority of titles are digital. Websites and online magazines can be corrected later, print can’t. Once that is out there, mistakes and all, it can’t be taken back. And one way to avoid this is to offer relevant parties copy approval. Just use it sparingly.

The post When to Grant Copy Approval (And When Not To) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(10 Interviewing Tips for Journalists.)

It’s not that we don’t like people, quite the contrary, observing and writing about humanity is our job. Once the ice is broken some of us magically transform into extroverts. But we may experience an initial blast of anxiety when yanked out of our comfort zone.

Despite having interviewed hundreds of people during my career I was extremely anxious at the prospect of conducting cold interviews (essentially vox pops, or person on the street interviews) for some recent assignments. This was surprising since I presented at a conference a few months ago and was not at all nervous. And I did vox pops all the time as a newspaper reporter, television journalist, and producer. So, what happened?

After some quick self-analysis, I realized I’m simply out of practice, and it’s circumstantial. I’m experiencing what many long-term remote workers go through—a sense of isolation. This not only affects confidence and self-esteem, it can also induce a touch of professional shyness.

Presenting at an event is also vastly different to interviewing random people as a roving reporter. Just as the dynamic between a journalist and an interviewee is different to simply chatting with strangers at the grocery store. And again, conducting a scheduled in-depth interview with one person, who you’ve already connected with, is much easier than approaching strangers and asking a question when they’re not expecting it.

If you’re with a camera person or videographer, vox pops are fun, but it can be daunting out in the field alone. This is almost as bad as cold calling someone about a controversial topic.

However, the stress quickly dissipated after the first few interviews, and I ‘found’ my old self again. I felt exhilarated and very much alive afterwards. While it should be par for the course for a journalist, this is how years of remote work has affected me. And I know I’m not alone.

If you haven’t conducted an in-person interview for a while and are thrown to the wolves with an assignment involving approaching random strangers for comments, these tips are for you!

‘Vox Pops’ or ‘Person on the Street’ Interviews

The phrase “vox pop” comes from the Latin vox populi and simply means “voice of the people.” So, you’re giving the public a platform to share their opinion on a subject—somewhere other than the comments section on social media posts. YouTube and TikTok are littered with video vox pops, and they’ve become hugely popular (and slanted) click bait.

But in ‘real’ journalism, (and yes there’s a difference), these types of interviews are very important and when done properly, with integrity and balance, they offer a glimpse into the genuine feelings of the public, at least in one area of the country. 

So here are 5 tips for conducting person on the street interviews aka vox pops.

5 Tips for Conducting Vox Pops

1. Take a deep breath and remind yourself of your role as a journalist and the purpose of the assignment.

This will help put things in perspective and give you inner strength and a much-needed confidence boost.

The main issue for most of us is the discomfort of asking complete strangers for their thoughts, coupled with the fear of rejection or receiving a rude response. And let’s face it, these are legitimate concerns. It’s human nature. But as a journalist you’re out in the field, boots on the ground, to gather the voice of the people. That’s an important purpose and a significant privilege.

Keep in mind also that while some may not want to talk, many people are more than happy to share their views and opinions. This is quite evident on social media where people are desperate to be heard. How much better is it to share these thoughts in real-life? Some people may never have been asked their opinion before, so giving them a voice could make their day.

2. Spend a few moments observing the scene wherever that may be, a city street, small town, a college campus, or at a protest.

If you’re attending a protest, always make sure the situation is safe for both you and the interviewee. Keep in mind that if you’re at a march you may have to walk and talk.

But let’s use an airport (one of my scenarios) as an example. The story here is disruption to air travel, so the first task is a general observation of the scene: ticket desks, schedule boards, and TSA lines. How many cancellations are there? Are there long lines? Do people look harried and hurried?

Instead of jumping right in, grab a seat at a coffee shop or in the waiting area, jot down notes describing the scene, and casually watch people, listen to conversations, and plan your approach. This will be different for each venue of course. A protest or a march is fast moving and so there will be less time to observe, so no coffee for you!

3. Use your ‘Spidey Senses.’

Who seems most approachable? Who looks stressed and is most likely to have experienced flight delays and/or cancellations? Is it that man slumped in his seat? The lady holding a sleepy baby? The young couple deep in conversation?

Next comes the hard part, approaching total strangers to ask for comments.

To break the ice, I strike up a conversation with a friendly looking older lady sitting nearby, just casually asking if she’s experienced any delays that day. We speak for several minutes chatting about her visit and where she’s from. She’s had no delays, and I mention what I’m doing, and she wishes me luck. So, this was my practice, my litmus test. I enjoyed the interaction with a lovely person who was more than happy to converse. So now I feel ready to speak with more people.

4. Be respectful.

Be aware that you’re approaching people without their permission, in a public place, and essentially entering their personal space. It’s quite natural for someone to be on the defensive. Imagine how you would react if a stranger approached you out of the blue while doing errands in town?

I always approach with a smile, and just to get a general sense of the situation, in this instance, I start with a simple question, as if I’m also a traveler, “Hey there, have you guys had any flight delays or cancellations today?” If they say no, I decide on the spot whether to pursue the conversation further.

But I spend most time trying to spot those who have experienced delays and by now my ‘spidey senses’ are working overtime. I overhear a lady asking someone, ‘did you get on another flight?’ So, naturally I approach them both for an interview, identifying who I am and who I’m reporting for, and the nature of the story.

When you do get an interview, ask for the following information: full name, ensuring it’s spelled correctly, age, occupation, their backstory, where they’re from, why they’re traveling, and any other details the story or publication requires. It’s also good to get contact information just in case you need verification later.

If you’re asking about a specific topic or an issue a good approach is, “Hi I’m Alison, and I’m with (state your publication) and I’m out today asking young people about the election, so what’s your view on what’s going on right now?” When you give the whole spiel and tag a direct question—what do you think about?—at the end, I’ve found people are more likely to respond automatically.

At the airport I wrote down quotes old school style, but in other situations recording the conversation might be easier. Always ask permission to record and be aware that this can put people off. Try and gauge someone’s possible reaction to such a request.

If a person is rude, and it happens often, just respond politely, saying, “okay, I understand, but thank you.” Then brush it off and carry on. They might be busy, shy, in a bad mood, don’t like speaking to strangers or simply dislike journalists. It could be anything. Don’t take it personally.

5. Seek out a variety of viewpoints.

For balance, try and gather a variety of different viewpoints, especially if it’s a political topic or a controversial issue. You also need to approach and include a diverse group of interviewees, in gender, race/ethnicity, and age. Remember when reporting, we want to represent all people in our society.

Good luck out there, believe in yourself, and remember, this is important work and you’re giving a voice to ordinary people.

*****

The Writer’s Digest Guide to Journalism is a practical, informative, and well-researched introduction to journalism and its best practices, with actionable advice, tips, techniques, explanations, and anecdotes straight from the field. In this digital guide, writers will learn how to write an effective news piece, skills need to be an effective journalist, outlets for publishing journalism, journalism associations, and so much more. Both inspirational and pragmatic, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Journalism is packed with valuable resources for aspiring journalists.

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(5 Journalism-Related Movies Based on Real Events.)

So here are five powerful TED talks by media professionals in various fields. We kick off with a fascinating talk on the Panama Papers, the biggest data leak in history, followed by talks on international journalism and war reporting, two fields I haven’t yet tackled. And finally…we close with some positive news—an interesting dive into solutions journalism.

How the Panama Papers journalists broke the biggest leak in history. Gerard Ryle, TED Summit, (June 2016)

Gerard Ryle is the director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington, DC. In this TED talk he shares the story behind the biggest journalism collaboration in history, which offered an unprecedented look into the secretive world of offshore finance. Ryle led a worldwide team of journalists working on the Panama Papers, the 11.5 million documents leaked from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm, based in Panama. The documents reveal how the rich and famous hide their money offshore and exploit tax havens. The 2016 release of the Panama Papers led to resignations of government leaders, several arrests, and regulatory reforms.

Full profile.

You can search and browse the Panama files: offshoreleaks.icij.org.

3 Ways to Fix a Broken News Industry, Lara Setrakian, TEDNYC, (January 2017)

Journalist Lara Setrakian, co-founder and CEO of News Deeply, shares three ways we can ‘fix the news industry’ to better inform the public about the biggest issues of our time and ensure important stories are never ‘left behind.’ She states the need for specialized and beat journalism, forming partnerships with local journalists in different countries, news industry accountability, resisting the temptation to use fear for ratings, and the embracing of complexity. She gently reminds us that the news is “adult education.” 

Before starting News Deeply, Setrakian, a self-described ‘industrious optimist,’ was Middle East correspondent for ABC News and Bloomberg Television. 

Full profile.

War Journalism should be rooted in empathy — not violence. Bel Trew, TEDx Berlin, (February 2024)

“Subconsciously we’d realized that the most impactful way to show the devastation of war, was in the image of a teenage boy, his hedgehog, and his heartbreak.”

These are the compelling words of Bel Trew, an international correspondent, photographer, and documentary filmmaker, who since 2011 has reported on uprisings, disasters, and wars from Ukraine to Gaza. Trew is calling for war reporting to be rooted in compassion and truth, moving beyond the constant focus on violence and including more stories highlighting the human toll of war.

“As a journalist, I’m among the few people who really can and should talk to all sides,” states Trew. “We live in a world where there are 1,001 ways to communicate and yet we’ve completely forgotten how to speak to each other.” 

Full profile.

Life on the frontlines of war reporting. Jane Ferguson, TEDWomen 2023, (October 2023)

Journalist Jane Ferguson has covered almost every major conflict in the 21^st century, and after two decades in the war reporting trenches, has observed the profession shifting from a male dominated space to majority female. The nature of war reporting today and therefore how wars are perceived by the public, has been changed by women taking the lead, according to Ferguson. She adds that the “types of stories that are covered, the angles that are taken, have been shaped by the fact more and more women are reporting them.”

Originally from Northern Ireland, Jane Ferguson is a war reporter and foreign correspondent for PBS and The New Yorker.

Full profile.

Is This the Time of Monsters — or Miracles? Angus Hervey, TED 2025, (April 2025)

The Good News You Might Have Missed. Angus Hervey, TED 2024, (April 2024)

Okay, it’s technically a total of 6 TED Talks, but I thought I’d include two talks by solutions journalist Angus Hervey. They’re both so compelling, I couldn’t choose. Plus, good news is refreshing, don’t you think?

Angus Hervey reveals the ‘hidden progress’ and the overlooked triumphs and accomplishments that persevere while it seems like the world is collapsing. If you watch the mainstream news, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all over. But did you know that in 2023 almost one in five children got fed in school? Sea turtle populations are increasing worldwide. And in 2024 fewer people died of natural disasters than almost any year in history? These are just a few of the underreported global wins Hervey shares in these podcasts.

“If we want more people to devote themselves to the task of making progress, then maybe we should be telling more people that it’s possible to make progress,” says Hervey.

Angus Hervey is the founding editor of Fix The News, an independent media company that shares stories of human progress.

Full profile.

The post 5 Powerful TED Talks on Journalism by Journalists appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(On Being Ready to Write and Publish a Book.)

Fortunately, this is where writers and parenting experts can help. Parenting books provide the much needed advice families are hoping to find. As the author of Calming Teenage Anxiety: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Your Teenager Cope with Worry, I recommended the following five steps in writing a successful parenting book.

Step One: Select a Niche Demographic, Population, or Concern

With numerous parenting books on the market, it is helpful to begin by narrowing down your focus. While many topics in parenting can be applied throughout a child’s lifespan, consider specializing in one age range or demographic. To clarify, target your audience to parents of teenagers, middle schoolers, or a certain age range. If this does not feel applicable to your work, select a distinct concern or problem to address. For example, focus on “parenting children with anxiety” or “parenting kids with ADHD.” Not only can this make you an expert in a particular area, but also creates a less daunting writing process for you.

Step Two: Provide Concrete Tools and Techniques

Most parenting books examine the multitude of difficulties children experience today. These books frequently explore the factors contributing to the problem and provide stories of those who are suffering. However, parents are seeking solutions and strategies to alleviate specific concerns. While it is important to acknowledge the contributing factors to certain issues, I advise providing concrete tools and techniques for parents. To specify, I suggest listing exact words, phrases, and actions for parents to utilize.

Step Three: Offer Case Scenarios and Examples

In conjunction with supplying your reader with clear language to use in their parenting, it is essential to offer scenarios and examples. Parents can better grasp when to use specific tools if provided with a case study. Explore realistic situations and possible outcomes for parents when using techniques and strategies. Additionally, you might want to emphasize what would create a successful, versus an unsuccessful, result from a particular scenario.

Step Four: Enhance Accessibility

While I recommend finding a particular niche, I also encourage you to make your book accessible to all types of parents. Every parent can benefit from additional tools, resources, and guidance, even if they are already confident in their parenting. Allow every parent to benefit from reading your book. Ensure that the parent with a doctorate, as well as the parent who did not complete high school, can gain insight from your writing.

Step Five: Be Authentic

Be authentic in your writing, and keep it real for your readers. Acknowledge that parenting can be challenging. Affirm that it is understandable for parents to be discouraged, annoyed, or frustrated at times. Provide a breath of fresh air for parents, rather than forcing your readers to pretend everything is okay. While it is important to maintain a positive tone in your writing and encourage parents to stay optimistic, be real and grounded.

Check out Sophia Vale Galano’s Calming Teenage Anxiety here:

Bookshop | Amazon

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From the time we’re children, the whimsical and weird draws us in and makes us imagine worlds beyond our own, creatures that exist only in our imaginations, and endless possibilities. In this issue, we celebrate whimsical and weird writing by exploring fantasy writing, magic, talking animals, monsters, unusual writing formats, and much more.

Features Include:

+ Building Your Own Magic System: Award-winning author Whitney Hill shares considerations for developing a magic system for your stories and how to avoid boxing yourself in for future works. By Whitney Hill

+ Leveraging “What If?” in Speculative Fiction: Five techniques for convincing readers your fiction just might be real after all. By Jeff Somers

+ The Weirder, the Better: How to write nonfiction that sells by embracing the odd sides of life. By Zachary Petit

+ Creatures of the Night: Enriching your fiction with dreams, nightmares, and half-awake visions. By Elizabeth Sims

+ Writing in the Southern Gothic Style: Understand the origins and nuances of this gothic subgenre to write atmospheric tales. By Sonya Alexander

+ The Winner of the 94^th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition: Announcing the grand-prize winner and the category winners of WD’s longest running writing competition. By Amy Jones

+ The WD Interview: Travis Baldree: Fantasy author and audiobook narrator Travis Baldree talks with WD about his newest cozy fantasy, Brigands and Breadknives. By Moriah Richard

Plus, embracing the power of play in your creative practice, quirky habits of writers, and the best tool in your marketing toolbox. And, as always, all your favorite columns like Publishing Insights, Breaking In, Meet the Agent, For All Ages, and more!

Subscribe to Writer’s Digest today for this to be your first issue!

The post Writer’s Digest November/December 2025 Cover Reveal appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(What Are Listicles?)

In broadcast journalism these stories are called a ‘kicker’ and are designed to counterbalance (or soften) the inevitable negativity and harshness of hard news pieces that make up most newscasts. They can be about anything positive, from cute animals (baby pandas) to an unusual lottery winning story.

Many local news stations still use variations of this format, and national newsrooms often dedicate specific segments to uplifting stories. Regional and local newspapers are renowned for their ‘local kid does good’ features. Magazines, especially women’s and lifestyle publications, were built on these types of stories. And of course, in the digital age, we can now find soft news on countless websites.

‘Soft news’ refers to lighthearted human interest and inspirational stories, including lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion. Sports journalism and many features also fall into this category, as do listicles, service pieces, and how-to articles. It can also include less positive stories, such as celebrity scandals and general sensationalist ‘tabloid’ fodder. These stories appeal to our emotions, curiosity, and a desire to learn. In journalistic circles they’re often referred to as fluff pieces.

Hard news is urgent and immediate, with reporters informing the public about important and serious current and ongoing events. Soft news is evergreen, the tone is lighter, and stories can entertain and inform, (although some would argue hard news has also become a form of entertainment).

While hard news is obviously important and needed, the constant barrage of bad news is becoming problematic, especially since it can pop up uninvited on social media sites and during online searches, in addition to the existing 24/7 news cycle.

Social media algorithms amplify negative and emotive stories to ensure engagement and this overexposure is having a detrimental effect on mental health, according to the American Psychological Association, leading to “media saturation overload.” Being subjected to a constant stream of negative news stories can’t be good for anyone’s health, but it’s especially harmful to young people. It can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression.

Soft news items not only counterbalance hard news, but in my opinion, they enhance and add to the ‘hard’ reporting, offering value and relevance. For example, while covering Hurricane Helene I researched the extent of storm damage, the death toll, and how flooding decimated entire communities. But among all the bad news were stories on the good work being done by ordinary people. My favorite story was about the Mountain Mule Packers; a team of mules that helped deliver disaster relief to stranded flood victims in North Carolina’s remote mountain communities. This is a heartwarming story, offering hope and joy amidst heartache and pain. It was also informative and useful if you knew of people who needed help at the time. Read the story here.

Some journalists thrive on the excitement and challenge of covering hard news exclusively. Although I like tackling topical issues and enjoy the immediacy of occasionally covering news, I’ve always preferred feature writing and investigative journalism. The best parts of the journalistic process are in-depth research and engaging with people—hearing about incredible personal stories, exploring different angles, and digging deeper into the heart of an issue. I’m not just referring to formal interviews here but just talking to people on their home turf and listening to what they have to say.

There are many layers and angles to each story. Hard news skims the surface and the reporter’s job is getting out facts quickly and efficiently, the who, what, where, and when. Again, a very important job. Features take a little more time and a lot more patience, and they can also tackle some of the ‘whys’ of a story. ‘Fluff’ pieces like listicles can offer quick, useful information about all kinds of things, like the best places to eat pizza in Nashville or the safest car for teen drivers. This ‘soft’ information is just as important and, in some instances, more relevant to people’s everyday lives.

7 Reasons Why “Soft News” Is Important

Here are a few more reasons why soft news is important:

1. We could argue that soft news is a lot more fun, especially when covering lighter topics. You can write about anything—Bigfoot, haunted cities in America, Mid Century Modern furniture, architecture, art history, you name it.
2. While the content of women’s magazines is primarily seen as soft (or fluff pieces), they do tackle politics and social issues but approach it differently. They humanize the stories, taking a deeper dive into the personalities involved, rather than giving a general, but detached overview. They also provide important information and advice on health issues, finances, parenting, and relationships.
3. Stories focusing on ‘soft’ topics can offer valuable and practical information and advice. It could be a feature on an artist, therapeutic horse riding, how knitting can help anxiety, and how to beat the winter blues. The topics are endless.
4. Soft news is evergreen; these stories have a long shelf life and can be enjoyed for years. Hard news is immediate but quickly forgotten, becoming outdated or ‘yesterday’s news.’
5. Writers can tackle interesting stories and meet/interview fascinating people. Researching and writing soft stories is just as educational for the journalist as it is for the audience.
6. Feel-good and inspirational stories really do make us feel better, by boosting mood, reducing stress levels, and inspiring hope.
7. People are starting to seek more positive, solutions based and constructive journalism. They want to know that there’s a possible solution to all the problems being highlighted. What is being done? Who’s offering help? How are they implementing changes?

Well-written and thoughtful soft news stories are important, because we need to feel hopeful, inspired, and reassured that people still care about each other. We are social creatures and naturally curious. If we must be bombarded with divisive, bad news all day, every day, then we also need access to positive, feel-good stories as an antidote. Otherwise, the public might just switch off altogether and go fully off-grid in protest.

And finally, soft pieces are predominantly nonpartisan, attract a broader audience, and many of the topics are universally appealing and relevant, bridging social, racial, and political divides. They foster community spirit and wellbeing. What’s not to love.

So, go forth and write some fluff pieces for goodness’ sake!

The post What Is ‘Soft News’ in Journalism? Why Are These Stories Important? appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(10 Interviewing Tips for Journalists.)

As the consultancy is primarily involved in the plastics industry, the digital magazines covered things like company acquisitions, personnel changes, technological developments, new applications, legislation, scientific breakthroughs, etc. This is all very niche, probably of interest only to people directly involved in the plastics industry. But there are a lot of them. According to recent a report from the Plastics Industry association, over a million people work in the sector in the United States alone.

As a journalist, you master certain skills and carry them with you as they form the building bocks of your career. These skills might involve basic computer literacy, research methods, interview techniques, etc. Plus, I had over two decades of publishing experience to call upon. However, none of this changed the fact that I had never worked in plastics before, so in my new role I quite often had very little idea of what I was writing about.

The thing is, it doesn’t matter. This is the 21st century. We have the internet, the best resource known to man, at our fingertips. You can pick up an assignment about the most obscure topic in the world, and be a virtual expert in three hours. A journalist is simply a conduit. You don’t have to know every little detail about some obscure area of business. You just have to find people that do. Then you simply find a common theme, often tied to some new development to make the piece more newsworthy, and then write it up to the accepted house style. If you can, try to include at least one original quote, which adds legitimacy. Of course, most interview subjects regurgitate the same information to every media outlet that asks them, in which case it becomes more about how you frame it.

My first assignment proper was to write a 2,500-word feature on plastic compounds in EVs. I didn’t even know what an EV was (for the record, it stands for ‘electric vehicle’) so you can probably imagine how overwhelming it was. But after a while I started seeing my lack of industry knowledge as an advantage. One of the most difficult things to do in any form of writing is to make difficult concepts easily digestible. Approaching the topic from a layman’s perspective means you do this subconsciously, for your own benefit. One thing to avoid is using specialized words or phrases. Instead of showing off the depth of your knowledge and appealing to industry types this often has an alienating effect, especially if English is not the reader’s first language (as an international publication, only around 40% of our readership are native English speakers).

A prime concern for me, as with most writers, is word count. There is more flexibility elsewhere, but every feature I write for the magazine needs to be in the 2,000-2,500 words range because that has been determined the optimal length and works best for the advertising department, who may have sold ad space to 3D manufacturing companies knowing we had planned to run a feature about it.

After several years in the job, I have now devised a system. In the first instance, I write up a list of relevant companies or individuals (which can be filed away for later reference) and send them a media enquiry outlining my intentions for the article and asking if they would like to contribute. Some companies send you the perfect package; a well-written, original 300-word submission with a couple of good supplementary images. Others may need more direction or instruction, and a large percentage of the article might be scraped together from news articles, press releases, and the odd second-hand quote. Some companies and PR departments like to send you completely irrelevant material hoping you’ll be able to slip it in somewhere. Or they will submit dated information you have already covered elsewhere.

At the final count, I might find myself with 6,000 words-plus of material, which I then have to deconstruct and decide what to cut and what to keep. On the flip side, other times I don’t have enough material, and the feature might finish a few hundred words short. In those situations I need to get creative and bulk things out. You can wax lyrical a little, drop in some statistics, make some comparisons, or even references older stories.

At any given time, I am usually working on several different features at various stages of development. One might be almost ready to submit (always before deadline!), another might be at the polishing or self-editing stage, while I might be researching one or two others. Don’t forget that just as in the consumer press, some features are time sensitive and designed to coincide with certain events penciled into the international calendar.

The arrangement the magazine I work for has with the majority of companies it deals with can be best described as mutually beneficial. We need material, and they need publicity. The same companies we write about take out advertising in the magazines, and are also active across other departments. That said, something drummed into me early on was the importance of impartiality. For that reason, we never allow outside influences, like the possibility of upsetting an advertiser by painting them in a negative light, to affect us. News is news, after all.

The post How to Write About Unfamiliar Topics With Authority! appeared first on Writer's Digest.

In this interview, P.E. discusses using their journalistic skills to help write their new book, Breaking Awake, their advice for other writers, and more.

Name: P.E. Moskowitz
Literary agent: Melissa Flashman 
Book title: Breaking Awake: A Reporter’s Search for a New Life, and a New World, Through Drugs
Publisher: Atria (S+S) U.S.; Bloomsbury U.K.
Release date: September 9, 2025
Genre/category: Memoir; nonfiction
Previous titles: How to Kill a City; The Case Against Free Speech
Elevator pitch: In August 2017 a car ploughed into a crowd of peaceful marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, where I was reporting on a far-right rally. For me, this was a shattering near-death experience, followed by a nervous breakdown. As I willed myself back to life using a variety of drugs, both prescription and illegal, I started to wonder: why do so many of us need drugs to quell the pain of modern life?

Bookshop | Amazon
[WD uses affiliate links.]

What prompted you to write this book?

I experienced a PTSD-induced mental breakdown in 2017. And I thought my life was over. It took several years to rebuild a semblance of a life. Drugs became important parts of the healing process for me. They helped me quell the pain I felt from nearly dying. And, later, they helped me gain perspective and reenvision my life and therefore rebuild it. The story we’re so often told about drugs is purely negative, so I wanted to use my journalism skills to show a different side of them—how they helped me, how they can help other people. To that end, I wanted to write about my own story but also travel the country and write about other people who use drugs in interesting ways, ways that counter the mainstream narrative on drug use.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

I first had the idea for a book based on my experience of PTSD and drug use about five years ago. After that, I wrote a pretty standard book proposal and attached an article I’d written about antidepressants for The Nation and sent that to my agent. She helped me edit the proposal a bit, and it sold pretty quickly after that. The actual writing and reporting process took about 2.5 years from there, and then editing and publication another year or so.

The overall structure of the book is very similar to what I’d envisioned—combining memoir, reportage, and history and theory. But a lot of the reporting I did changed my mind or redirected my research, so the actual content of the book is different than it was at the very beginning.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

This was the first time I’d gone through several rounds of edits on a book. My editor, Stephanie Hitchcock, is brilliant and thorough and really pushed me to concretize my arguments and make the memoir sections as effective as they could be. I don’t know if that was a surprise per se, but in an era when thorough editing is ever-rarer, it was very welcome. I really enjoyed being pushed to say what I mean; in essence, to become a better writer.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

Every reporting trip was a learning moment for me. My favorite part of being a journalist is getting to know random people on a deep level for a few days or weeks and learning from them. Meeting drug users and people dealing with trauma from so many different backgrounds helped me feel less alone in my own struggles. And I guess I was surprised by just how similar all of our stories are—whether we’re taking antidepressants in the suburbs or taking heroin on city streets, so many of us are simply trying to quell the pain of our particularly depressing era.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope it helps people feel less alone. We’re so often conditioned to think of our struggles as individual or chemical in nature, when really we’re all facing the same pressures of an increasingly frayed and dangerous world. There’s no solution to this era of encroaching fascism that isn’t worked on as a collective, and forming a collective starts with realizing we’re all in the same boat, that our internal struggles are really one, big external struggle.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Be weird. Listen to all the advice you can, understand structure, understand how things should be done, but then get weird with it. Don’t be afraid to experiment with structure and prose and form. So many nonfiction books follow a very similar formula these days. I hope more people push the boundaries of that!

The post P.E. Moskowitz: Don’t Be Afraid To Experiment appeared first on Writer's Digest.

My answer usually goes something like this, “I’m a freelance journalist, writer, content creator, videographer, editor, producer, radio commentator, content and course creator, author … and oh yes, I often sell stuff on Facebook Marketplace—just you know, as a hobby.”

“So, you’re a jack of all trades then?”

I didn’t have a quick response to this recently asked question. I needed to ponder. I dislike that term. It sounds flighty. In the future, I’ll shake my head and answer, “No, I’m a journalist of all trades…”

Freelance work involves a lot of different ‘doing,’ things that can fit under one umbrella. From now on I will simply incorporate all my work under the journalism umbrella and be done. Here’s why I can do this:

1. I’m a professional freelance journalist. I write all types of nonfiction articles and dabble in fiction, but I will always identify as a journalist first. My whole career has revolved around journalism in various forms and mediums.
2. The courses and sessions I have created (and intend to create), and the nonfiction books I’ve written, are either about journalism or draw from and reference my almost three decades-long journalism journey.
3. Even when my writing (or content) is not technically journalism (for example, a sponsored content piece), I still use my journalism skills, so the process is identical.
4. Depending on the content, videography is a strong form of journalism and editing is a valuable multimedia skill.
5. I can easily turn my Marketplace selling exploits into a service piece, blog, or personal essay, especially if I actually make a profit one day!
6. The main characters in my (unpublished) novels are journalists.

I should also add marketing and accounting to the “what I do” list above, because, if you’ve ever freelanced you know that it’s “all of this.”

We wear many hats as freelance journalists; it just comes with the territory. By necessity, we’re negotiators, communicators, organizers, hagglers (you should see me at the flea market!), investigators, and creators.

So having been asked “what I do,” I’d like to break down what it takes to be a freelance journalist, one “thing” and one “job” at a time. Here it goes.

Research and Consistency

The ability to find regular gigs and keep generating good ideas.

As a freelance journalist it’s important to find ‘bread and butter clients’—regular gigs, such as a column, blog, or a regional magazine beat to guarantee at least a base weekly or monthly income.

To attract new assignments, freelancers must also excel at finding and developing story ideas; ones that sell. This must be an ongoing process and ideally as a freelancer, you should have a file brimming with ideas, source names, and notes. These may be useful in the future when an issue becomes topical, or an editor puts out a pitch call that fits your idea.

You must also pitch consistently.

Pitching

If you master the art of pitching, then success is almost guaranteed. This is where many of us falter. Pitching is a number’s game, we’ve been told this countless times, and it’s true. If you don’t pitch well and often, then assignments will be few and far between.

Study successful pitches written by professional writers. How long was the pitch? How much detail did the writer include? How did they present (and sell) the story? How did the story gel with the publication? What tone did they use?

I must confess that this is my weakest spot and I’ve written in more depth on how to pitch (when you don’t want to), here.

Flexibility

This is where ‘journalism of all trades’ comes into effect, and you can use your skills to pitch and write all types of content, from features and essays to news articles and solutions pieces. Generalists can write about anything and even if you stay within one niche, such as tourism, you can always write different types of pieces within that genre. You can also use your skills and earn more income by expanding your reach to other forms of writing, such as video scripts.

Flexibility also extends to the processes of journalism, including interviewing. Be flexible and offer different options and times—in-person, phone, Zoom, and so on, to accommodate the interviewee as much as possible. After all, they’re not getting paid for their time.

Organization Skills

Freelance journalism involves so much, from generating ideas, research, pitching and writing, to poring over contracts, creating invoices, and communicating with editors.

Time management—it’s important to devote a few hours each month to deal with the business and administrative side of your work, including invoices, tracking expenses, budgeting, following up on late payments, and so on.

It’s a good idea to pitch in batches and again devote a time specifically for generating ideas, finding publications, editor information, and writing awesome pitches.

If we flitter from one thing to another like an overenthusiastic butterfly in the flower garden, we end up with half-written articles and underdeveloped pitches littering our desktop. Each aspect of our work demands complete focus, especially pitching. It’s easy to become flustered and distracted when we do too much at once. Divide time accordingly and accomplish more.

Patience

As freelancers, we’re always waiting. Waiting for an editor to reply to a pitch. Waiting for an article we wrote months ago to be published. Waiting for a source to answer an interview request. Waiting to get paid.

Without the gift of patience, we wouldn’t last a month in this game.

Curiosity

Curiosity is essential in journalism, especially when you’re a freelancer. Stories and ideas are everywhere, and our job is to spot them, note them, pursue, and dig, it if looks promising.

Everyone we meet could be a possible source and so we must remain vigilant, curious, ask questions, and listen carefully to people’s stories (and gossip!)

Thick Skin

A thick skin is essential in any form of journalism, but especially so when you’re constantly pitching and inevitably being rejected by editors. Although it’s hard not to take it personally, it’s vital that we shake it off and remember it’s the idea that’s being rejected, not us as people or our writing. The story may not be a good fit, the timing is wrong, or a similar article has just been commissioned. Maybe the pitch itself is too wordy, or the email may never have been opened because of a weak subject line. It could be any number of reasons.

Our articles may also attract negative comments online (which is never much fun), or a source may suddenly refuse to be interviewed after previously agreeing. As journalists we’re always vulnerable to criticism and negativity; it comes with the job. The best thing is to protect ourselves emotionally and psychologically and take these things in our stride. It’s often not our writing or stories that are triggering people, but something deep in their own psyches making them want to lash out. But sometimes it is the story or something we wrote. Either way, note it, deal with it if needed, then move on to the next story.

Networking

Networking with industry professionals can help advance a journalist’s career, offer support during difficult times, and help develop skills and craft. This includes fellow journalists, editors, nonfiction writers, and others in the media.

Target the publications or websites you want to write for and find the editors in your chosen sections. Follow them on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube, or wherever they live online. Editors often put out calls for pitches in specific areas, so keep checking. If a writer you admire posts something you genuinely like, leave a heartfelt comment. Just don’t be too persistent or try too hard to gain attention. Sincerity goes a very long way, especially in the times we live in.

Socializing

Journalists are sociable creatures, whether in person or virtually. We’re a good combination of joiners, talkers, and listeners. And if you want to find more opportunities to grow as a professional, I highly recommend joining a writing group or a journalism organization and attending events and conferences. Talk to people, explain (briefly) who you are and what you do, then listen to them, ask questions, and be attentive when they speak. If you meet someone in person, remember to grab their business card and follow up.

Click here for an article on journalism organizations you can join as a student or a professional journalist.

Whether it’s a local, national, or an international group, it’s helpful to find a space full of people with similar professional and journalistic goals, that can help you improve your craft and advance your career. Spending time with other writers and journalists often leads to strong relationships and lifelong friendships.

You can also Subscribe to newsletters that offer industry tips, lists of publications, pitch calls from editors, grant information, competitions, workshops, classes, and much more.

Here are some newsletters to get you started:

• TheWordling.com
• FreedomWithWriting.com
• WOW-WomenOnWriting.com

*****

The Writer’s Digest Guide to Journalism is a practical, informative, and well-researched introduction to journalism and its best practices, with actionable advice, tips, techniques, explanations, and anecdotes straight from the field. In this digital guide, writers will learn how to write an effective news piece, skills need to be an effective journalist, outlets for publishing journalism, journalism associations, and so much more. Both inspirational and pragmatic, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Journalism is packed with valuable resources for aspiring journalists.

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