5 Must-Have Tools for Professional Journalists

Tools

Being a professional journalist in today’s world is a tough challenge. Many people that have writing skills are afraid to participate in this industry. There are many reasons why people have that way of thinking.

Unfortunately, this industry lost credibility because of some bad people. The number of fake news drastically started to grow together with the development of social media. Some people want to use the opportunities that the Internet brings in the wrong way. Because of that, the average person gets confused. At first glance, everything around current news seems correct. However, the readers later realize they were a victim of a scam. In that way, they stop believing in any form of media.

This is a global problem that every journalist needs to accept. More precisely, they need to be sure that everything post they publish is 100% correct. If they make only one mistake, people will stop trusting them.

You probably understand why some people avoid becoming journalists. However, this doesn’t mean everyone should avoid this profession. On the contrary, this sort of situation should serve as a motivation for every person that is passionate about journalism.

We would like to help you achieve your goal. There are certain must-have tools for professional journalists that will make things easier. Let’s find them out together.

1. Transcribear

Many posts on your news blog are going to come in the form of an interview. People like to read this sort of article. This especially counts if your guest is an expert for the current field. However, transcribing the entire interview usually takes us a lot of time. Time management is crucial in this world. You always want to publish news, interviews, and things like that before your competitors. Because of that, using a transcription tool would be a perfect match for your needs.

Transcribear is the tool that allows its users to transcribe video and audio files in two different ways. You can do that manually and that sort of service is completely free for you. However, automated transcription is the service that all the journalists would rather choose. There is a free trial available for every first-time user. In that way, you can check if the program has everything a professional journalist would need. You can get more familiar with this software on the link that we attached.

2. TinEye

Source: YouTube

As we said, the online world is full of fake news. In most cases, recognizing one is a tough challenge. You need to additionally research something to confirm that something is real. Well, this is the moment when this software can become your superhero.

Let’s say that some picture became viral online. Logically, you would want to write a story around that image. In this way, you can attract readers to start reading your posts. You will probably check on a couple of places to confirm the news. However, what if everyone is wrong?

Well, this image search engine tool uses image identification technology. Most of the other tools are using watermarks, metadata, and keywords to confirm credibility. Yet, the journalists will find the place where the current image was primarily published. Despite that, the program will design a unique digital signature and match it with other indexed images. The result you get will confirm if the image has been digitally edited or not.

3. IntelTechiques

Source: Twitter

Well, this program might not be impressive for every type of journalist. However, if investigative reporting is your passion, then this tool might be helpful. It allows you to effectively research hundreds of websites and social media accounts. The professional journalists can track someone, background a source, or simply investigate the online life of the current person.

Let’s use an example to make things clearer. You want to research someone’s Facebook account. Logically, you can manually check the posts of that person. However, you need to invest additional effort to find posts that the current person liked, commented, etc. Fortunately, things are easier with IntelTechniques. You can find out that with this tool for a shorter time. This counts when we talk about other social media networks like Instagram.

4. CrowdTangle

Source: Chartbeat Blog

Are you using Google Chrome? Well, if not, you might start using it because of this cool free extension. Every person has the opportunity to track and optimize the content on social media. Most of the journalists of today are sharing their posts on different social media networks. Indeed, Facebook might be the best place to do that. However, Instagram and Twitter also have their advantages.

Anyway, you need to know at every moment how your content was successful on the networks. The results that you get will tell you if there are current things that you need to change. For instance, what if your posts were not engaging among the audience? The number of shares, tweets, and similar things will tell you that.

5. Hemingway

Source: The Writing Cooperative

You need to be aware of one simple thing. People that are using the Internet actively do not like to read a lot. They would rather choose to watch a video or listen to a podcast. Because of that, you need to make your textual content easy to read. Fortunately, certain apps can give you useful directions.

Hemingway highlights all the errors that you made while writing the content. Also, it gives you suggestions on how to improve those mistakes. You will see areas colored in different colors which means that you need to change different things. For instance, purple color serves as a warning that current words have simpler alternatives.

Conclusion

By using these tools, you will improve the quality of your content. Despite that, you will also spend less time to publish a quality article. They are great assistance for people that truly want to succeed in this competitive field.

Additionally, you should never hesitate to invest in equipment. For instance, buying a better microphone or camera is a necessity. This sort of investment will always pay off in the end. Keep in mind that the audience is everything for you. You need to carefully listen to their requirements and expectation. If you successfully do that, they will become your loyal followers.