I found Chapters 1 and 2 of AP’s Gide to News Writing to be informative. From reading the chapters, what struck me, was that journalism seems to be asking you to throw away everything you’ve been told about writing, with the exception of basic rules. In a quote from E.B. White in which he says,
An adjective habit, or a wordy, flowery, diffuse habit, once fastened upon a person is as hard to get rid of as any other vice (pg 13) If ever I had a vice, I would say that was it. I’ve always thought it was better to describe everything with flowery words. To my mind set it made papers better, made them more colorful, and interesting to read. I’ve gathered from the book that it’s most certainly not true at least to a certain extent. I think one of the hardest tasks I have ahead of me in journalism will be cutting out the fluff.
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/teaching/EL227/2007/09/ap_writers_handbook_tba_1.php