Common style points

Print, radio, television and online journalism follow some common style points, such as the use of active language and an avoidance of clichés.

Each medium also has its own unique style points. Traditional print newswriting is always past tense and avoids the use of contractions. Broadcast favours the present tense more, and contractions are used as they would be in everyday spoken language.

What follows are some common style points with details on where the style can vary for different medium.

Style points unique to specific media are detailed much later along with a few notes to highlight where you will lose marks in assignments.

Remember, this is only a guide but you should have a good reason for not following any of the directions.