Journalist Questions

Journalist questions allow you to capture the basic elements of a context, topic, or event. The questions allow you to consider what your readers might need to know about a topic.

Principle

Write down the who, what, when, where, and why of your topic.

Example

Who?-  Who owns dogs?  Families, individuals, people who are active and like the outdoors.

What?-  What is a dog?  A four legged creature, domesticated.

Where?-  Where do dogs live?  People in rural areas have large breeds that need room to roam.  Apartment dwellers have smaller breeds.

When?-  When is it no fun to have a dog?  When it’s raining and cold and the dog needs to go for a walk.

Why?-  Why not a cat?  Cats can be aloof and unfriendly!