Think 'new':
Journalism is about what's new - the clue is in the word 'news'.
That means always thinking about how you can approach a story in a new way; what you collect and how you collect it; how you write it, edit it, illustrate it. And that means all the time - even when you feel like you're just processing an item on the news diary.
In the Original Journalism section on the website, BBC2 Newsnight's Michael Crick says:
"Even when doing everyday, seemingly pedestrian reprocessing stuff, constantly ask 'What can I say that's new to the story?'."
And that's the trick. Original journalism isn't just about the big stories; the scoops and exclusives. Originality can also lie in the way you put a story together: what you include, what you leave out; whether you spot a pattern; the precise words you use; the way you challenge a conventional wisdom.
It can also be about the way you frame a shot; crop an image; edit audio.
'What can I say (do) that's new' should be your daily mantra ... even when, especially when, on the face of it there's nothing new to say.
