Tip: Mastering the art of the news explainer

Credit: BBC journalist Ros Atkins speaking at the International Journalism Festival

With an abundance of information online, one format of news has thrived in recent times: the news explainer.

One of the clearest cut examples of how to pull off this format comes from BBC News, which has found success in giving audiences all the background information they need to understand the most pressing news stories. This effort has been led by journalist and presenter Ros Atkins.

Atkins spoke at the International Journalism Festival last week in Perugia on how to master this format, and you can catch up with that talk below.

One of his key tips for producing journalism that resonates was to focus on stories and opportunities when you have the chance to do a really great job, rather than sticking to a specific routine or feeling obligated to churn out the work to a schedule.

"The only things that perform well are exceptional things. And exceptional things are more expensive to make, they take more staff, and they're harder. But they're the only things that are worth doing," he said while describing how his team only makes a news explainer when they are convinced by the idea, even if that means doing multiple videos some weeks and at other times letting weeks go by without one.

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