A tribute site by his family
Simon Townsend
27 November 1945, to 14 January 2025
Journalist. Television pioneer. Conscientious objector. Teacher of the trade. Over five decades Simon wrote hundreds of practical guides on the craft of journalism. Direct, opinionated, funny, occasionally blunt, and always practical. This site preserves that work.
5 Logies · The Sun · The Weekend Australian · A Current Affair · This Day Tonight · CNN · Simon Townsend's Wonder World
Start with Simon's essentials
Simon Townsend's 10 Rules for Freelance Journalists
Simon Townsend 's 10 Rules for being a productive freelance journalist and staying successful Rule 1: Manage your fear of rejection The No...
People in Stories: The Most Important Lesson
People The secret of creating your SALEABLE articles By SIMON TOWNSEND, Senior Tutor THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTSHEET I EVER...
How to Sell Your Article: Fast and Correctly
How to sell your article - fast and correctly I recommend strongly against 'query letters'. I hate them, as do all editors. You 'query' if...
Brevity: Every Word Must Earn Its Place
Brevity Sometimes you use unnecessary words. BREVITY is one of the basic elements of good writing. You need to go over your work to weed...
Curiosity is Essential
Lack of curiosity is some students' downfall I love tutoring. But it has ups and downs. And the worst down is realising that about 20% of...
Vagueness is a Journalistic Sin
Vagueness is a journalistic sin Vagueness is one of the most common sins in journalism. Think about these questions: How many is 'a few' or...
Simon Townsend's Wonder World!
1,961 episodes. Five Logies. 17 reporters, one bloodhound named Woodrow, and the first ever INXS music video. The official YouTube channel holds rare clips, full episodes and behind-the-scenes material.
Pick a reading path
Four curated sequences through the archive. Pick the one closest to where you are.
For Students
If you are studying journalism or thinking about it
For Freelancers
If you are selling your work and managing the business
For Working Journalists
If you are already in the trade and sharpening the craft
For Photo Journalists
If you carry a camera as well as a notebook
Browse the journalism archive by section
So You Want to Be a Journalist
30 articles
Career, curiosity, code of ethics
The Craft of Writing
88 articles
Grammar, punctuation, word choice, voice
Getting the Story
21 articles
Interviewing, research, source work
Building Your Article
18 articles
Structure, headlines, layout, names, numbers
Selling Your Work
51 articles
Pitching, editors, freelancing, money
Specialties
21 articles
Travel, TV, PR, court, review writing
Tools of the Trade
26 articles
Photography, email, kit, digital toolkit
Wisdom and Inspiration
19 articles
Rules, stories, quotes, persistence
Have Some Fun
12 articles
Bad headlines, quizzes, Simon's humour
Wonder World
2 articles
The show, the reporters, the story behind
Who was Simon Townsend?
Simon Townsend started as a 16-year-old reporter in Woy Woy on the NSW Central Coast. He went on to write for The Sun, The Weekend Australian, A Current Affair, ABC's This Day Tonight, and CNN.
In the 1960s he made national headlines as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, jailed in 1968 for refusing to serve. The case reshaped Australian law on conscription and conscience.
In 1979 he created Simon Townsend's Wonder World!, nearly 2,000 episodes of groundbreaking children's television on Network Ten. Five Logies. Seventeen young reporters. One bloodhound named Woodrow.
In his later years Simon poured decades of craft knowledge into teaching journalism. The hundreds of factsheets and guides he wrote are the foundation of this site.
Common questions
What is this website?
A tribute site built by Simon's son. It preserves the hundreds of journalism guides Simon wrote over five decades of teaching the craft, plus the story of his life, his TV show Wonder World, and his fight for press freedom.
How many articles are on this site?
Hundreds of practical journalism guides, organised by section and cross-tagged by topic.
Where can I watch Wonder World?
A curated selection of episodes is on the official YouTube channel. The National Film and Sound Archive holds the complete archive and a curated collection.
Can I contribute memories of Simon?
Yes. Use the contact form on the site. Mike, Simon's son, maintains this archive and is collecting memories from former Wonder World reporters, colleagues and readers.
Is the content copyright?
Simon's writing is reproduced with permission of the Townsend family. Individual articles may be quoted for non commercial purposes with attribution. Please do not reproduce whole articles without permission. See the terms for detail.