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

Serving the audience

Public service journalism covers the news that society needs to function.

400 resources

Download and adapt

Free articles, guides, and tools designed to strengthen journalism


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

Reporting from conflict zones

When reporting from a conflict zone a journalist needs to be sensitive, understand history and cultural issues, and put people first

Preparing for an interview

A journalist needs to be well-prepared when planning an interview. However, after all your research, try to keep the interview to three questions in order to avoid over-complication and confusion.

Interviewing for video journalists

Tips about the steps a video journalist can take to enhance the quality of filmed interviews.

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.

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.

Offence and journalism

Rigorous journalism inevitably offends some audiences. Global broadcasters must cover all aspects of human experience to reflect world affairs accurately.

Advanced Journalism

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR ADVANCED SECTION

Editing radio news bulletins

Radio bulletins offer concise updates on the latest news. They deliver key stories tailored to your listeners' interests in just a few minutes.

Old news is no news, updates are essential

Journalism involves an ongoing commitment to update and rework the material we are producing to ensure that it remains relevant, reflects latest developments, and continues to inform.

Good journalism has always been about data

We are all data journalists, even those who may have never heard of the term before. Data journalism has been around for years, it's just more accessible and useful now.

Investigative Journalism

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR INVESTIGATIVE SECTION

Investigating corruption

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

Investigative journalism best-practice

Investigative journalism: Avoiding common mistakes

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.

Management

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR MANAGEMENT SECTION

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.

Tool: The MHM newsroom staffing rota

Every news operations needs a staffing rota that provides excellent coverage during operational hours, makes maximum use of resources, and offers significant benefits for staff.

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.

Newsroom Strategy

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR STRATEGY SECTION

Forward planning for media organisations

This module looks at how media organisations need to plan ahead in order to produce original content that informs the public debate and makes the most efficient use of resources.

Creating a converged newsroom

A converged news operation offers improved quality control, more efficient workflows, cost savings, a steady flow of original journalism across all devices, and new resulting business opportunities.

Developing a media sales strategy

Sales is one of the most important elements of a media company's commercial strategy. The sustainability of the business relies on its ability to generate income.

Ethical Scenarios

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR SCENARIOS SECTION

Accuracy – scenario

In this scenario a reporter witnesses a mass walkout of workers from a factory affected by industrial action. The company claims it's business as usual; the union says all workers have downed tools.

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."

Right of reply – scenario

When should journalists offer a right of reply? All the time, sometimes, never? Try our ethical scenario and add your comments.

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.

Evaluating the impact of training

The evaluation process for media training is set in motion the moment you are engaged by the media organisation you are being asked to help.

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: Story Weighting System

Different news stories have a different value for your audience and for your business. Giving news items a 'weighting' can lead to impact and efficiencies.

Tool: Optimism index for media trainers

The 'Optimism Index' is a tool designed for trainers of group journalism sessions to gauge and ultimately improve the participants' hope for the future.

Tool: Training of Trainers (ToT)

Training of Trainers (ToT) courses are designed to equip individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to train others.

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.

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