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

SIFT for fact-checking

Journalists who are committed to fact-checking, as we should all be, have several methods available to help them deal with fake news.

Tool: News story checklist

The follow is a structured checklist tool for journalists to consider in order to ensure they produce strong news stories.

How to produce a radio news bulletin

Putting together a radio news bulletin is like preparing a satisfying meal that leaves your audience nourished and prepared for the day

Editorial Ethics

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR ETHICS SECTION

Fairness in journalism

Fairness in journalism means exploring all sides of an issue and reporting the findings accurately.

Accuracy in journalism

Precision is the soul of journalism. Rule one is simple: get it right. If you can't respect the absolute need for accuracy, this isn't the career for you.

Unconscious bias and journalism

Bias is a prejudice for or against a group, often leading to unfair judgements. While it's a normal human trait, understanding our biases is vital for fairness.

Advanced Journalism

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR ADVANCED SECTION

Updating an online news item

Journalists working on a news website are responsible for publishing content on every device their users to turn to in order to access information.

How to spot errors in your writing

Most journalists need a second pair of eyes to check through their copy in order to spot any factual, grammatical or spelling mistakes.

Disinformation and misinformation

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

Investigative Journalism

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR INVESTIGATIVE SECTION

Why would anyone want to talk to a journalist?

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

How to investigate official documents

The investigative journalist never takes things at face value. They probe and question in order to get to the truth, especially with official

Investigating corruption

A journalist investigating corruption faces many risks and challenges. Investigative journalist Don Ray shares his experience.

Management

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR MANAGEMENT SECTION

Community radio running order

The following is a 24-hour daily schedule for a community radio station, balancing core programming elements with listener engagement and local relevance.

Getting the best out of a news meeting

The following is a list of the essential elements required to ensure a successful daily newsroom meeting that provides a clear outline of what news stories are being covered.

Setting up refugee media in exile

This article deals with how refugee communities can set up and operate a successful news organisation when living in exile.

Newsroom Strategy

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR STRATEGY SECTION

The value of audience research

Knowing your audience and understanding the issues they face are essential factors in developing a compelling editorial proposition.

Social media test for mainstream media

Does your media organisation have a social media strategy. Does it reach out and connect with your audience on every device they are turning to for information?

Adapting to changing audience behaviour

Media organisations need to ensure that the content they produce is available on every device the audience turns to for information.

Ethical Scenarios

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR SCENARIOS SECTION

Legal threats – scenario

In this scenario a local newspaper reporter faces legal threats for a factual planning application report that lacked the applicant's demanded "positive spin."

Privacy protection – scenario

You are working on the online news desk of a large media organisation. News breaks of fighting overseas. Raw footage arrives showing identifiable dead bodies. What do you do?

Editorial impartiality – scenario

In this scenario a reporter covering a story about medical malpractice in a hospital discovers that the consultant involved is a relative. What should they do?

Training of Trainers - ToT

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR TRAINING OF TRAINERS SECTION

Wanted, your media know-how

Have you got any journalism expertise that you are willing to share with others? If so, please get in touch.

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. 

Designing a media training plan

A well-designed media training plan could make the difference between the success and the failure of a media business.

Training Tools

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR TRAINING TOOLS 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.

Tool: Newsroom Convergence Implementation

This newsroom convergence tool helps editors deliver content to multiple platforms from one source, increasing reach and efficiency while reducing costs.

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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