Media Helping Media (MHM)

Preserving and promoting the core principles of accurate, impartial, public-service journalism by offering free training materials in multiple formats to be downloaded, adapted, and used.


Essential Journalism Values

CHECK OUT MORE THAN 250 ARTICLES ON JOURNALISM BEST PRACTICE

Accuracy

Why accuracy is essential

Accuracy means getting every single detail in your story absolutely correct.

Impartiality

Why impartiality matters

Impartiality means leaving your opinions at home when you go work.

Public interest

What is public service journalism?

Public service journalism covers the news society needs to function.


Free Journalism Learning Materials

DOWNLOAD AND ADAPT MORE THAN 140 ASSORTED TRAINING RESOURCES

Exercises

Our free one-hour exercises provide practical skill-building activities for self-directed learning.

Workshops

Our two-hour and four-hour workshops offer structured training sessions on essential journalism skills.

Lessons

Our free day-long lesson outlines are for trainers to download and adapt for specific local training needs.

How-To Guides

Our short how-to guides are designed to be checklists based on some of our more comprehensive training articles

Modules

Our free six-week course modules deliver structured training programmes on major journalism themes.

Refreshers

Our free day-long intense refresher courses are to help experienced journalists update their skills .


Basic Journalism

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR BASICS SECTION

Translation in journalism

If you are a journalist working in a multilingual society, you may have to work in more than one language.

The questions every journalist should ask

There are six questions that journalists should consider asking. They are What? Why? When? How? Where? and Who?

How to cover an event

This guide offers comprehensive advice for anyone looking to cover an event, from meticulous preparation and strategic on-site actions to ethical interview techniques and capturing compelling visuals.

Editorial Ethics

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR ETHICS SECTION

Respecting privacy as a journalist

Journalists face a difficult balancing act. They must respect privacy, but they must also investigate issues that are in the public interest.

Is your journalism ethical?

Reliable journalism is based on applying strict editorial ethics to all we do so that we can examine the issues that have the most impact on the lives of our audience.

Why editorial ethics are important

The Media Helping Media ethics section is designed to help journalists navigate some of the challenges they might face as they go about their work.

Advanced Journalism

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR ADVANCED SECTION

Disinformation and misinformation

Journalists attempting to deal with 'fake news' need to understand the difference between disinformation and misinformation.

Journalists and politicians

Journalism is often referred to as “the fourth estate”, and is seen as being crucial to the functioning of a healthy and fair society.

How to motivate journalists

Your daily news meeting should set the tone for everything your news organisation does. It should be dynamic, brimming with original ideas and angles, inclusive and agenda-setting.

Investigative Journalism

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR INVESTIGATIVE SECTION

Tool: Motive, veracity, and security (MVS) matrix

This free Media Helping Media matrix is designed to help journalists assess the risks and benefits of investigating a tip-off or a leak.

Dealing with suspects as news sources

Sources are one of the most valuable resources for a journalist. They need to be handled with care in order to build trust and gain knowledge.

Why would anyone want to talk to a journalist?

An investigative journalist has to encourage people to share information that they had previously withheld.

Management

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR MANAGEMENT SECTION

Tool: The Content Value Matrix

In this article we look at the 'content value matrix, a tool designed to help media managers prioritise effort and resources on the stories that really matter to the target audience.

Building a news team from scratch

Selecting, training and organising a strong news team is a challenge in any circumstances, but doing so in a refugee camp with no resources is an amazing achievement. One editor explains how it was done.

Setting up community radio

Launching a community radio station is about more than just broadcasting news, it’s about creating a hub for local voices, sharing vital information, and building community spirit.

Newsroom Strategy

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR STRATEGY SECTION

Establishing a market differential

This article sets out the process for producing original, in-depth, issue-led journalism designed to inform the public debate.

Convergence: transforming news production

Introducing a converged news operation is rarely easy. Those trying to introduce changes in workflows, roles and responsibilities are often met with resistance.

Audience research and segmentation

In a rapidly shifting media landscape, where consumers have more choice than ever, a deep understanding of the audience has become essential for all media companies.

Ethical Scenarios

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR SCENARIOS SECTION

Returning favours – scenario

In this scenario a naive reporter's early success with a government minister leads to an ethical dilemma when a 'favour' is demanded in return.

Interviewing integrity – scenario

In this scenario, an award-winning journalist is offered a top job at national TV station, but soon after starting her new job she discovers corruption in the media house.

Photo journalism – scenario

In this scenario a reporter tells the newsdesk that she has a strong news story only to find that the facts were not as they seemed.

Training of Trainers - ToT

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR TRAINING OF TRAINERS SECTION

Build your own journalism training course

Editors who want to improve their news output and raise the professionalism of their staff now have access to free training materials.

The MHM public service journalism curriculum

The following curriculum is designed for journalists who want to improve their skills, and for journalism trainers to adapt and use.

Training needs assessment

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.

Training Tools

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR TRAINING TOOLS SECTION

Tool: Motive, veracity, and security (MVS) matrix

This free Media Helping Media matrix is designed to help journalists assess the risks and benefits of investigating a tip-off or a leak.

Tool: Evaluation and Impact Assessment

Training should always be judged by its effectiveness, and there are several tools for measuring success. The following is to evaluate the assess the impact of the training. 

Tool: Multiplatform Authoring (MPA)

This MPA tool lets journalists write a story once and publish across multiple digital platforms, ensuring editorial consistency for the news organisation’s audience.

Radio production training in Jaffna, Sri LankaCheck out our short guide setting out how to make the best use of the free training resources on Media Helping Media.

Journalism training in KampalaMedia Helping Media has no political or financial backers – it’s just professional journalists sharing their knowlege. Find out more.

Fojo logoMedia Helping Media is proud to be hosted by the Fojo Media Institute.

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