From our BASIC JOURNALISM section
Interviewing for video journalists
How to enhance the quality of filmed interviews, including the use of lighting, avoiding distractions, calming nerves, and making the interviewee feel good.
The qualities of a journalist
A journalist needs to have a broad interested in the world around them and want to find things out and share their discoveries with their readers or listeners. They must have a love of language, written or spoken, understand the meaning and flow of words and take delight in using them.
From our EDITORIAL ETHICS section
Unconscious bias and its impact on journalism
Journalists must not allow their own personal or political views to influence their pursuit of the truth. They need to remain objective and impartial, while also being aware of the dangers that unconscious biases can cause.
Why editorial ethics are important
The Media Helping Media ethics section is designed to help journalists understand and navigate some of the challenges they are likely to face as they go about their work.
From our ADVANCED JOURNALISM section
The basics of fact-checking
The growth of social media platforms has enabled people to express views and share content online, quickly and often. But not all of it is true.
Information disorder – mapping the landscape
Over recent months, there has been a surge of interest in trust and truth in a digital age. Claire Wardle of First Draft News sets out her 13 priority areas for further research.
Media Helping Media Facebook Page
Media Helping Media offers free training resources covering basic, advanced and investigative journalism, editorial ethics, media management and strategy, and staff training. We also have scenarios to test journalistic instincts. The site is supported by Fojo Media Institute.
20 ways a suspect can help a journalist
Sources are one of the most valuable resources for a journalist. Without sourced information, the reports produced may end up being padded with rumour and personal opinion.
10 tips for investigating corruption
An investigative journalist has to plot the geometry of bribery, determine the currency of influence, document the paper trail, and deal with threats and retaliation when investigating corruption.
Why would anyone want to talk to a journalist?
There may be many reasons why someone will agree to open up to a reporter, and some will be beyond their control. It's worth taking time to try to figure out the motives before interviewing them.
Story weighting system for breaking news
Introducing a story weighting system helps prioritises effort on the stories that are of most value to the target audience, it saves time, speeds up production, and helps avoid wasted effort.
Getting the best out of a news meeting
Most newsrooms hold regular news meetings where the editor sets out what news stories are going to be covered and invites the news team to offer ideas about how the news should be developed and covered.
Prioritising production with the content value matrix
How to prioritise newsroom effort
There are many demands on a newsroom. There is the routine flow of news releases and stage-managed events that need to...
Setting up a media business – four essential steps
A media business is like a table with four legs. These are the media organisation's target audience, the core editorial proposition that it offers to that audience, the values that the business holds dear, and the market that sustains the business. Each leg has to be strong and firm. If one leg is weak, the table wobbles. A shaky media organisation is not good.
Vision, accountability and transparency
A media organisation must be clear about what it stands for. If your audience puts its trust in the news you produce, then you need to set out your editorial values and be ready to be judged.
Strategic forward planning for media organisations
This module looks at how media organisations need to plan ahead to produce original content that informs the public debate and covers the issues of most concern to the target audience.
Public interest – scenario
This scenario looks at some of the issues that need to be considered when deciding whether a story is in the public interest.
Trespass and journalism – scenario
In this scenario we discuss whether it is every justified for a journalist to trespass in order to gather information that helps the audience better understand the issue being covered.
Photo journalism – scenario
Scenario: You arrive at a border crossing and see a child sitting by the roadside crying. You think it's been abandoned and take a picture. You alert the newsdesk. But it transpires it's just lost its mother and stops crying when the mother arrives. What should you do?
Adopting the right attitude for media training
A trainer must not shout at participants or get into loud arguments. They must not make those attending their courses feel small or humiliate them. Some fairly strong points made by participants.
Evaluating the impact of training
The evaluation process at the end of a media training session begins the moment you are engaged by the media organisation you are being asked to help because this is when you know the expectations and deliverables.
Maximising the impact of media training
Thorough research is the essential if you are to deliver high-impact media training. Never accept a brief from media managers without question - they could be wrong and often are.