Investigative journalism aims to discover the truth about a topic, person, group or event. It may require detailed and in-depth exploration through interviews, research and analysis. The purpose of investigative journalism is to answer questions.

News journalism reports facts, as they emerge. It aims to provide people with objective information about current events, in straightforward terms.

Feature writing provides a deeper look at events, people or topics, and offer a new perspective. Like investigative journalism, it may seek to uncover new information, but is less about answering questions, and more about simply providing more information.

Columns are the personal opinions of the writer. They are designed to entertain and persuade readers, and sometimes to be controversial and generate discussion.

Reviews describe a subject in a factual way, and then provide a personal opinion on it. They are often about books or television programmes when published in news media.