journalism training

Julian Sher has trained in newsrooms around the world, all through Europe and North America and Africa, as well as in the Middle East and Bangladesh. Contact Julian directly for more information about in-person or Zoom training.

For a sample of the training, see the slideshows below available for download in PDF format as well as some videos of my courses.
You can also see more videos about journalism on My YouTube Channel.

 

The Investigative Interview

We've all done it – blown a key interview or missed a vital question. With plenty of examples from Trump to Trudeau, this course is about how to dramatically rethink the way you approach interviews, master the basic rules of tough interviews, and then learn how to break them when needed.

PDF downloads are available here in English, French and Arabic.

Organizing Complex Investigations

How do you organize a difficult investigation? Where do you start? How do you figure out your priorities and your strategy?  How do you organize your work, sources, interviews and your writing? Using concrete examples, this hands-on guide will make your life easier when it comes to the big project.

PDF downloads are available in English, Arabic and Bangla.


Investigative Story-telling

You've done the digging, but you have to tell a story, not a scoop. This course looks at writing, focus and story structure so that you can turn your investigation into a great tale that will grip readers and viewers. PDF downloads available in English and Arabic.

TURNING YOUR STORY INTO A BOOK

You've done hard work on your story. Now you think maybe there is a book to be done. But a book is not just a longer version of a news story. This slideshow looks at the challenges and skills needed to write a great book.

WRITING HISTORICAL NON-FICTION
(A Quebec Writers Federation workshop, November 12, 2023

Writing original and entertaining non-fiction is hard enough.But when you set about writing historical non-fiction about true events and real characters that happened many years, decades or even centuries ago, your challenges only increase. You cannot interview your main characters, they are long dead. Archives may be hard to access or expensive. How do you bring to life your locations and scenes and make them accessible and understandable to the modern-day reader?

PITCHING YOUR STORY

You may have a great idea but how do you organize your thoughts and focus your story to make the strongest pitch possible.

Download a short form to help you make the best presentation.

videos of courses

Investigative Story-telling:course Video

ARIJ 2017

Video of a 90-minute class given at the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism in Jordan, 2017.

 

The Camera as Story-teller: Making Investigative TV Documentaries

November 2020 Zoom lecture at Concordia University in the Journalism Department with Francine Pelletier.

 

ASKING THE HARD QUESTIONS

Zoom seminar on interviewing techniques for the International Center for Journalists. May, 2020.

COMMENT POSER LES QUESTIONS DIFFICILES

Comment bien enquêter et mener une bonne investigation? Comment poser des questions difficiles lorsque vous recherchez des réponses auprès des médecins, des scientifiques, des chefs d’entreprises ou des responsables gouvernementaux sur la pandémie du coronavirus ?

 

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