What is the news story? What key questions does it answer? How do we write a news story and quote sources? What does a fake news mean and how do we discover it? What should a reporter do to give the right to life to a news story? There are some of the basic themes contained in one of the most important courses at SAJS – “News and Reporting”. The students have discovered pure journalism with Diana Railean, Radio Free Europe reporter, School graduate, 2009.

The course started with basic information about the news stories /articles and their role in the mass media. The future journalists have learned that, although it is a pure information, the central element of which are the facts, not every kind of information can be a news story. It has to answer some of the key questions: who? what? where? when? how? why?. “Without these answers and without novelty, we cannot talk about an exhaustive news”, said Diana Railean.

The course was also focused on the parts of a news story: the lead, the body and the end, as well as the formulation of titles. Another topic was the sources and their quotation, the actuality of the news, the objective, impartial and equidistant reflection of the reality. The students have learned to distinguish between credible and doubtful sources, permanent, occasional and anonymous sources, between direct and indirect quotation.

The course was a very practical one. The trainer promoted, in particular, the dialogue and the involvement of students, focusing on practical writing sessions. Thus, the young people participated in a round table related to the dangers of disinformation on the information security of the Republic of Moldova, organized at the NATO Information and Documentation Centre. The event was attended by a group of journalists from Italy, the US Embassy press attaché in Chisinau and the press attaché of the US Embassy in Rome. They have seen what a reporter job means, have worked with press releases and have written some news stories, applying the rule of the second eye in journalism. On the last day of the course, Diana Railean invited them to visit Radio Free Europe, where they discussed the reporters; they tested the activity of a radio presenter and heard their voices.

The students particularly appreciated the practical aspect of this course. “I learned the basic rules of writing a news story and the shape that the media product should wear before its distribution to the reader. The events I went to as a journalist and then the news I wrote, motivated me to become better in what I do”, mentioned Violeta Tutuianu.

In the next two weeks, at SAJS, Interview and Media Law courses will take place.