News-writing tips from my ex-journo brother

"As you probably know, there is a major difference between journalese and creative writing, the latter being much more descriptive.
My understanding is that journalese is a concise description of the facts of what happened, or will happen, to who, where, why, when and how.
Use active voice, never ever passive.
Avoid tautology.
Avoid overuse of commas etc, keep them to a minimum, short sentences make that easier.
Therefore, use short sentences.
One adjective usually suffices, no flowery language.
No opinion is offered, "just give me the facts!".
The opinions used are those of the person interviewed, not the journo. This is different in "opinion pieces" - e.g. column writers in newpapers and mags.

Quotes are very good to use, so it's good to interview subject and quote him/her, they are the authority, not the writer.

format for quotes -
Tom Jones said, "One, two, three". don't use Mr.
If Jones was a professor you'd introduce him as such rather than use his title.
e.g. The Professor of Biology at XYZ Uni, Tom Jones said, "One, two three".
or - Tom Jones, professor of biology at XYZ Uni said, "....

after that use -
"He fell over", Jones said.

You don't use any fancy language, simply use "said". After first intro of person, use surname only, no titles after that.

Keep language simple, don't use a big word when a small one will do."

Some examples of news stories that follow most of these suggestions:

Maharishi University story
MIT story