A reader of Media Helping Media from SE Asia contacted this site asking for some tips on becoming a journalist.

There must have been thousands of such tips passed on over the years.

However, rather than hunt around for material others had written, I thought it was worth bashing out the first 50 that came to mind.

Two of the tips below were offered by colleagues. You can add your own in the comment box below.

The more the merrier.

50 tips for budding journalists

1: It's a vocation, not a job

2: You are born with a news sense, you can't be taught one

3: Your duty is to scrutinise the executive and shine a light in dark places

4: All journalism should be investigative (digging where others don't) or witness (that which you see and hear that others may miss)

5: You are on duty 24 x 7 (you don't stop when your shift ends)

6: Don't expect to be given stories; your job is to find them (following up a news release of attending a staged event is part of the process, but real journalism is finding original content)

7: Your job is to ask questions, research information and uncover facts and then deliver those facts to the audience in the most effective way (you work on behalf of your audience and have the responsibility to knock on the doors of the powerful and influential on behalf of your audience)

8: Live your life by the rule that 'had it not been for you the world would never have known' (If you only report on information that is already being recyled by others you will only be doing half the job)

9: Always be working on your own investigation and come up with something original (have a list of story ideas that you are working on)

10: Don't live a wires-led life (trying living a week producing content without looking at the news wires and news releases)

11: Don't follow the competition, aim to be ahead by finding your own stories and angles

12: Always check the fourth paragraph in a glowing industry news release; there may be job losses or other bad news which may be of more interest to your audience

13: Broadcast and publish for your audience, not for your own glory or peer group approval

14: Treasure, nurture and feed contacts, don't just drain them and dump them

15: Apply the same journalistic rigour to those with whom you agree

16: Don't have favourites

17: Don't do deals

18: Don't accept gifts, the bill will usually end up on your doorstep one day

19: Don't make exceptions

20: Respect privacy

21: Take notes and keep them safe

22: Look behind you when you are retracing steps

23: Know your facts

24: Know your limitations

25: Check and check again

26: Be careful about thinking you have written what you think you have written

27: Always get a second pair of eyes to check your copy, even if that person is not a journalist

28: Resist the pressure to work up a 'good intro' and sensationalise a headline; if the story is lame work on something else

29: Leave a note when going undercover, just in case

30: Keep a diary of stories covered and follow them up in three months; if a story is worth doing it's probably worth following up

31: Keep copies of all emails, texts, dates of phone calls and be sure never to throw a notebook away

32: Trust your instincts when researching but stick to facts when broadcasting or publishing

33: Check the side streets when there is a fire on main street

34: Realise that a politician will always have a script

35: Watch out for those who would like to see you compromised

36: Deal with your own motives, likes, dislikes, feelings, beliefs, they must have no impact in your delivery of balanced, impartial and objective journalism

37: Don't put interviewees in danger

38: Respect intellectual property, from a comment to user-generated content and always acknowledge

39: Never use 'will have to wait and see' or 'time will tell', if you don't know how a story will end, don't go there

40: Never say 'the victim has not been named', they have, soon after birth, what you mean is 'police have not released the name of the victim'

41: More than = quantity, over = height

42: Don't use long words when short words will do

43: Avoid sub clauses that may complicate and obscure the information you are attempting to relay

44: Convey a sense of urgency only when it is appropriate but remain honest and do not inflate the importance if it doesn't merit it (*)

45: Never sweeten with respect if none is due (*)

46: People are never evacuate, buildings and bowels are

47: Be sensitive when knocking on the door of the bereaved; some will want to invite you in for a cup of tea, show you precious family photos and may let you take one away with you, others will set the dogs on you

48: Rumours are useful for heads up on a potential story, but they are not news until they are verified

49: Be thorough and ensure your work is spot on, but don't take too long polishing, there are people out there who need to know about the facts you've uncovered

50: Always get your round in (buy a drink at the bar).

(*) = borrowed from colleagues