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Not Australian, so i can't help you with the Australian issues, but I can help out with the first part.

Your statement "the way I wrote it is less journalistic and more telling a story, most of it reads like a novel, it's probably not very professional." I am a staff writer at a magazine where I write long pieces, so here are some thoughts on that:

The "professionalism" or journalistic nature of your piece has nothing to do with the structure, but its intent; just because it's not a hard news piece with an inverted pyramid structure, does not automatically disqualify it as professional or journalistic

For example, this random Washington Post story on a new budget proposal has all the elements of a "professional" news story immediately recognizable: a broad lead that lets readers know exactly what the story will be, followed by specifics, data, info, context, etc. Here's its lead:

President Obama’s new budget proposal calls for ten of billions in new spending and several revisions to the nation’s tax code, all of which could have a sizable impact on new and small businesses.

But then check out this piece: Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese for Esquire in 1966. It's widely known as one of the best pieces of American magazine writing by one of the best writers of the generation. This is journalism, too. It sets scenes, and uses detail you're just not going to find in a newspaper piece, and it reads significantly more like a novel. Here's its lead:

FRANK SINATRA, holding a glass of bourbon in one hand and a cigarette in the other, stood in a dark corner of the bar between two attractive but fading blondes who sat waiting for him to say something. But he said nothing; he had been silent during much of the evening, except now in this private club in Beverly Hills he seemed even more distant, staring out through the smoke and semidarkness into a large room beyond the bar where dozens of young couples sat huddled around small tables or twisted in the center of the floor to the clamorous clang of folk-rock music blaring from the stereo. The two blondes knew, as did Sinatra's four male friends who stood nearby, that it was a bad idea to force conversation upon him when he was in this mood of sullen silence, a mood that had hardly been uncommon during this first week of November, a month before his fiftieth birthday.

There's a significant value for people who can tell stories beyond the inverted pyramid structure, and I particularly appreciate people who can write non-fiction stories with with such vivid detail and unique writing style.

If you're more passionate about the storytelling aspect of non-fiction stories, instead of hard news, I'd recommend perusing the longform.org site for links to present-day stories that do it well. I'd also recommend these books for some inspiration and for intro into authors you may dig:

The Gang That Wouldn't Write Straight by Marc Weingarten

The New New Journalism by Robert Boynton.

Feel free to send me a PM.

>did some research

If you have data on the economic and circulation-numbers state of community weekly newspapers in the U.S., please let me know. I'd love to read it.

I can only base my viewpoints on Pew's State of the News Media analysis on print news circulation, as well as generalized surveys and studies.

I have no doubt that print weeklies will survive for a while longer -- especially in some markets, like the rural midwest and in areas with a much older-than-average population base. But it's not an economically viable medium for transmitting news in the long term.

A book you should check out, when you get the chance, is David Mindich's Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News

>People still know they have to pay for my newspaper.

I'm sure that business model will last you well into the future.

>And web advertisement is worthless.

Yet somehow start-up online news sites and popular blogs have managed to make it work by developing new ways to metric ads, reach audiences for increased presence, and other ways of innovation. Interesting.

> get so tired of academics and people looking at the industry from on high saying print is dying.

Because by every available metric, print is dying. Please note here that "Print" means simply the publication of news using ink and paper. I am well aware that newspaper organizations do most of the original news production and reporting in the country. Which is why I highly support their turn to better online presences -- so they can reach the audience they want to reach, and we can all benefit from a properly informed society.

>Based on the big, national dailies you're trending an industry that includes weeklies, magazines, free papers on and on.

All of which are faltering, economicly, on the national scale.

I have nothing against your standpoint that community weeklies are important. They are where I got my start in journalism, where I did almost all of my professional work in journalism.

My problem comes at your dismissive approach toward blogging, self-reporting and entrepreneurial journalism. They are the nature of the modern market. They are how people get clips now, how people prove themselves, and how people cover a community and give voices to people in an era of failed print platforms.

It's a silly -- and frankly incorrect -- opinion to have toward the facts of a changing news audience and a changing news structure.

I'm lucky I'm the one teaching the journalists of the future.

Professional science journalist here. Stories primarily come from scientific journals (the big ones such as Science, Nature, PNAS, PLOS ONE, etc, and smaller niche journals). We read through the listings for the journals each week and pick out any that look worth covering. Many journals, especially the big-name ones, put out embargoed journal highlights and press releases before publication. For instance Science puts out its upcoming scientific issue Sunday night with a Thursday embargo. For the smaller journals that don't do embargoes, we typically will just keep an eye on the journals web listing of accepted articles. All articles these days indicate a "corresponding author" with an email address. I never really have issue getting my emails returned, but then again I work for a well-known glossy magazine.

Besides journal articles, there are press releases from institutions, universities and research groups. Some of these are public releases while others are embargoed. By far the biggest repository of these releases is EurekAlert.org, which is produced by AAAS (the makers of Science). While a lot of press releases are publicly available on the site, you will need to be a credentialed and registered member of the media to peruse the embargoed content.

We also will head out to scientific conferences. Depending on where you live there's likely to be a few conferences near you throughout the year. Some conferences, such as the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting, take place in the same place while others, such as the Society for Neuroscience's meeting, move around a lot. For press these events are free and we'll typically spend a few days reporting news stories, chatting with scientists for feature ideas, looking at posters and not getting enough sleep. Scientists often say the conferences are exhausting, but we do everything they do and then have to write about it at night.

There are a few other ways to get stories, such as from social media stalking, FOIA requests, government meetings, making contacts within the field, and looking at faculty webpages.

For anyone else considering entering science writing as a profession, I highly recommend choosing a science-focused graduate program instead of a more general J-school track. Good schools include UCSC (arguably the best), MIT, NYU and BU. For /u/foundanamethatworks I recommend A Field Guide for Science Writers as a good starter book. You can get a used copy for around $12 off Amazon.

Let me know a bit more about your situation and I can probably recommend some good resources. Also feel free to PM me in the future if you need any advice!

Your best bet to cover your own arse from any defamation is to actually read the law on libel/defamation.

This is the most common legal problem you will face with publishing interviews, but is unlikely to be a problem with what you are doing unless they say something particularly bad or you make them out to be a douchebag. It's a complicated law and I really recommend you look it up and seriously read into it if you are going to be publishing a lot of interviews.

I'd recommend you record the interviews, as well as ask them to state the spelling of their name into the microphone when you start so A) you get the spelling of their name correct and B) when you listen back it's clear which recording it is.

If you happen to know teeline or any kind of legitimate shorthand then it is important you date and sign the notepad at the front, as well as date the top of pages at the beginning of each interview.

It's important for your quotes that you have fully identified the person being quoted too, so don't start with "Stuart said". It needs to be formatted as something like "Stuart Freebridge, Head of Transportantion at Lincoln County Council said:" This only needs to be done the first time they are quoted, afterwards you can shorten it to Mr Freebridge etc.

I am by no means a qualified journalist! I have done some work experience but nothing paid and I'm only a second year journalism student. The law is extremely important and I really recommend you get something like McNae's.

That book is a handy reference and it is vital you read some of it if you are going to be publishing a fair few interviews on a variety of subjects.

A lengthy post, so sorry about that and I hope this helps! If you want any interview tips I have some I give out to the freshers when they work on my publication, but this post is long enough!

TL;DR : LEARN THE LAW ON DEFAMATION AND LIBEL.

I use this.
I plug it into my recorder, stick the earbud in my ear and it does a perfect job. The audio of both ends sounds great. I was really pleased when I first used it. Still am. It's hands-free and a great investment.

There are several annual collections published as books. One of my favorites is the Best American series

• Magazine Writing http://www.barnesandnoble.com/mobile/w/the-best-american-magazine-writing-2016-sid-holt/1123830173?ean=9780231181556&st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Core+Shopping+Books_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP62465
  
• Sports Writing (There's a lot to be learned about writing from these folks even if sports will not be your friend's focus.) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01912OYOU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
• Science and Nature Writing https://www.amazon.com/Best-American-Science-Nature-Writing/dp/B01L9AJKYG
  
• Travel writing https://www.hmhco.com/at-home/featured-shops/popular-series/best-american-series/ba-travel
  
• Crime reporting https://www.amazon.com/Best-American-Crime-Reporting-2009/dp/0061490849
  
• Infographics (This is a booming sector of journalism with some of the best job prospects and best pay. These skills also open up the door to stories others won't see) https://www.hmhco.com/at-home/featured-shops/popular-series/best-american-series/ba-infographics
  
  Other journalism-related books that you might consider:
  
• Boys on the Bus, a must-read first person account of journalists' lives on the presidential campaign trail https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D5BFDKI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
• The New York Review Abroad: 50 years of International reporting https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008LNDO2E/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  -Journalism's Roving Eye, a history of foreign reporting https://www.amazon.com/Journalisms-Roving-Eye-American-Reporting/dp/0807143596
  
• The New New Journalism https://www.amazon.com/New-Journalism-Conversations-Americas-Nonfiction/dp/140003356X
  
• Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0U30/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
  
• The Investigative Reporter's Handbook https://www.amazon.com/Investigative-Reporters-Handbook-Documents-Techniques/dp/031258997
  
• Precision Journalism https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Journalism-Reporters-Introduction-Science/dp/0742510883
  
• The Associated Press Guide to Newswriting http://www.barnesandnoble.com/mobile/p/the-associated-press-guide-to-news-writing-rene-j-cappon/1122972240/2675698122266?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Textbooks_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP20449&k_clickid=3x20449

Some good resources are the Associated Press Stylebook, the Elements of Style, and The Elements of Journalism. The Elements of Journalism gives some good tips for journalists like objectivity and truth. Good luck in your studies.

Two of my perennial favorites, which I'll add to some of the terrific suggestions below:

• 'The Elements of Journalism' by Kovach and Rosenstiel. Great grounding in the essential principles of the practice. There's also a decade-old online supplement.
  
  
• 'The Influencing Machine,' a graphic non-novel by Brooke Gladstone, offering an easy-to-read overview of a lot of thinking about journalism and media, including a discussion of journalism's real biases.
  
  But besides those, much of the writing, especially on technology, gets old very quickly, so as other people have pointed out, books aren't always your best route. Get yourself into the social media conversation about journalism, where you'll find people like @romenesko and @jayrosen_nyu and many many other astute and intelligent commentators taking on the issues that are going to shape your career. But those two books are a solid foundation of the ideas underlying journalism.

Read as much music journalism as you can. Read it in NYT, the LAT, Guardian, WaPo, the Tribune, watch it on ABC, CBS, wherever. Figure out who you like. Read biographies and memoirs and history of music books. Then, write. Write a review of an album. You don't even have to publish it. Just try to write something kind of like your favorite music writers. Find your voice.

And also read about journalism in general. Read some books on newswriting. This is my go-to advice for all aspiring writers.

James Kershner's Elements of News Writing is a great practical guide that touches on basic practices and gives advice on how to write a variety of pieces, which you'll no doubt find useful.

Also, pick up a style guide and stick to it. AP style is pretty much the industry standard. You can get an older version that is much cheaper and still get ahead of the game.

Then read Zinsser's "On Writing Well" and "Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. They'll help you find ways to streamline your writing and cut the fat.

TL;DR write a lot. Read more.

Simple tip this is not, but I found that William Zinsser's "On Writing Well" is a fantastic read. It goes through basics on conciseness and writing factually, but also has specific guidelines on writing nonfiction (travel, humor, business, sports, arts, etc.) Also helpful on how to rid yourself of cliches and clutter.

In the late 1980s, TV broadcaster Linda Ellerbee wrote a GREAT book about being a woman working in the world of journalism. Some of the information may be a bit dated (though still relevant), but the book overall is fantastically written and quite funny. Your sister should definitely check it out:

https://www.amazon.com/So-Goes-Linda-Ellerbee/dp/0399130470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549210674&sr=8-1&keywords=linda+and+so+it+goes

The Elements of Journalism is a good place to start. The best way to learn how to write it is to learn how to read it. Find sources you trust, you know to be quality, and figure out how they put a story together.

Umm, i can't answer your question directly but it might be worth while checking out Stacy Percils Pearsall, books specifically this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Photojournalists-Field-Guide-trenches-photographer/dp/0321896610

Where she talks about what you're planning on doing.

Good luck.

I recommend you get your hands on Telling True Stories. This is an anthology of hands-on/how-to essays written by leading literary journalists. It had sections on how to do research, get close to your sources so you can tell their story truthfully, how to go about writing in the literary style.


Telling True Stories

It took me a while to figure out how to do this, and information about how to do it seems hard to find. So hopefully this might be of interest to a few, especially since Apple has improved iPad OS file management abilities.

I like to travel light on jobs and use an iPad Air. But I still prefer using external recorders over the iPhone to record interviews, etc.

Apple sells a lightning to USB adapter (The iPad Pro has C port. If Pro users have a similar problem, then this should work for them. They just need a C adapter.).

The iPad Air doesn't have enough power to support the Sony recorder. Apple's adapter alone won't work. You'll get an error message telling you that the iPad doesn't have enough power. Save your money.

What you need is a USB camera adapter with charging port. You can plug in the charging adapter to a wall plug, or as illustrated above, use a USB battery to power this up.

If you plug the recorder directly into the USB camera adapter, it will block the charging port. You can fix this by getting a USB male to female extender.

This setup allows me to access a recorded file on the iPad and then upload the file to a transcription service.

When I'm recording interviews for transcription or note-taking purposes, I use one of these. Picks up both halves of the conversation and works with any phone and pretty much any stand-alone voice recorder. The quality is just about what you're hearing on the call itself, though having a proper handset (rather than a flat cellphone face) will probably give you even better results.

If you want to actually use the audio in the final product — and you don't want it to sound like a phone call — you need to have your subject record their end of the conversation locally. NPR actually does this all the time, to the point where they'll send you instructions when they set up the call time.

Well, the obvious answer would be to read this:

Elements of Style

But Stephen King's On Writing is well respected (I'm reading it now, and it's told in a narrative. It doesn't feel like taking your medicine, if you're worried about getting bored.)

If you're looking for examples of quality writing that translate well into journalism, anything by Hemingway would be a good investment.

I don't have any ideas for you, as visuals weren't my bag (my thesis was in audio journalism), but check out a few issues of Visual Communication Quarterly for some inspiration. Newspaper Research Journal is another good place to look. As far as sources are concerned, David Perlmutter has some good stuff, especially as it relates to war imagery. Try this.

Inside Reporting was a book I found really useful in some of my intro classes. I highly recommend it.

Learn shorthand early.

I did a BA (hons) degree in journalism and we had to learn shorthand in the first year. If we didn't have it at 80wpm or better we weren't allowed to start the second year.

This is the book to get - https://www.amazon.com/Teeline-Fast-Ann-Dix/dp/0435453521

Teeline is much easier to learn than Pittman's http://www.amazon.com/Teeline-Fast-Ann-Dix/dp/0435453521/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1/175-8508749-8335662?ie=UTF8&refRID=1AGY0S4VVTHHG8B4BKCS

If you've not read Brooke Gladstone's book, The Influencing Machine, I highly recommend you check it out. Should be required media literacy reading. http://www.amazon.com/The-Influencing-Machine-Brooke-Gladstone/dp/0393342468

I'm a high school journalism teacher, so in addition to those offered up before I'll suggest:

1. Elements of Journalism A classic.
   
2. Inside Reporting This HS/college textbook lays out the basics in a visually interesting format. Try to find an older edition(they're way cheaper).
   
3. AP Stylebook If you want to be taken seriously as a professional, your writing needs to look professional. For all its detractors, the AP Stylebook is still the standard for almost every newsroom.
   
   

Anyone who is doing any form of journalism should own a copy of McNae's Essential Law. The law is complicated and very important.

Familiarise yourself with defamation and privacy law.

An Olympus TP-8, for everyone else: http://www.amazon.ca/Olympus-TP-8-Telephone-Pick-up-Microphone/dp/B007OXMHDE

Voices of the Revolution: The Dissident Press in America, by Rodger Steitmatter

Two books pop up in my mind immediately. I have read them both. The first one has just come out with a new version.

By the way, IN Germany, or FROM Germany currently in another country? Sorry if I made the wrong assumption in the links...

http://www.amazon.de/Elements-Journalism-Revised-Updated-Edition/dp/0804136785

http://www.amazon.de/Will-Last-Reporter-Please-Lights/dp/1595585486