1. Drink coffee like it’s water.

Something about those beans unleashes all a journalist’s creativity when consumed. The hotter the better, and journos love finding a good independent coffee shop to interview a source or have a meeting in.

2. Get places really really early.

The fear of missing a story is so great that when a journalist says they’ll meet you at 7pm, they’ll be there at 6:45.

3. Spout out random facts about very niche topics.

Most journalists have worked across different publications and beats (specialist areas) so they’ll know random facts like what the longest railway in Africa is.

4. Ask way too many questions in social settings.

Sometimes it’s hard to switch off from the day job, don’t be surprised if you’re having a conversation with a journalist and they go all Jeremy Paxman on you, oh and journos also notice everything inadvertently – from the colour of your shirt to whose name flashed up on your phone when you were at dinner. You’ve been warned.

5. Wear transition outfits.

You know those outfits that you can wear from the office to dinner to the club? Journalists could be called to interview someone, attend an exhibition or run around the city at any moment, so comfortable but smart clothes are essential. And they always have a snack and some spare shoes at the office,

6. Eat really fancy foods.

Writing about other people’s lives in all different parts of the world makes you very open minded and hungry for something a little more exotic than a Tesco’s meal deal. They also hear about new resturants opening way before the general public does.

7. Write the best tweets.

Explaining something using a limited number of words is basically what most journalism is, so, yeah they’re pretty good at crafting tweets

8. Consume news constantly.

News is like a drug, and it doesn’t sleep. Journalists get serious FOMO when they’re not near a TV/Radio/breaking news Twitter feed.

9. Use weird language.

Slug, par, tease. If you know, you know.

 

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“Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.” – Proverbs 18:9