Reading national and local newspapers, watching regional and national TV news and listening to radio bulletins should all be part of your daily routine.
Not only will you get a good understanding of current affairs and the political landscape etc but you'll learn what sort of news is covered by the different media organisations and the contrasting approaches each takes to reporting it.
If you have applied for a job as a journalist and been fortunate enough to be selected for an interview (and I use the word 'fortunate' quite literally as applicants for jobs in journalism are usually in abundance) it would also be advisable to know who's who and what's going on out there!
Now I don't mean knowing every single politician up and down the country or the chairman of every police force, but you should at least be fluent on the name of the local council leader, county council leader and political representative.
And find out the name of the town or city mayor, the police chief, chairman of the local health authority and key decision makers for that particular news patch.
Know which political party is in power in your country, who is the leader and which party is governing the region(s) covered by the media organisation.
DO NOT, however, contact the media where you've got your job interview and ask them if they could tell you. This happened when I was a newspaper hack and the editor put a great big, black pen line straight through that young man's application! I'm sure you can imagine why.
You should definitely be familiar with the newspaper or media channel where you have the interview. What sort of news is covered? What, if any, campaigns have been done recently? What is the style and angle of its written or broadcast work? What main sports teams are covered?
Try to imagine the sort of questions that might come up in the interview. You are most likely to be asked why you want a job on that particular newspaper or broadcast media.
Wouldn't it be great to answer with reference to a few recent articles or broadcasts the media organisation has covered? Or how much you think the media campaign they are running to raise money for the local hospital is a great idea? How impressive would you sound to the interview panel?
Just don't overdo it though. Everyone, including journalists and editors, love to be praised for their work but too much of it can sound a little too gushy.
And NEVER lie! Having honesty and integrity are pivotal to the job of being a journalist so being caught out lying or exaggerating the truth to the point that you get yourself tangled in knots, is a definite no, no!
As I've said to many trainee journalists: "If in doubt, leave it out!"
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