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 Checklists

Our short how-to checklists set out the main points from 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

Where does news come from?

The job of the journalist is to uncover the stories that shape our understanding of the world.

Tool: MHM Story Builder

The Media Helping Media’s Story Builder is a simple tool created to help those who are new to journalism write informative news articles.

Developing important news angles

Seeking out new angles on a breaking, developing or running news story is an important part of the editorial process.

Editorial Ethics

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR ETHICS SECTION

Impartiality in journalism

For journalists, being impartial means presenting information without demonstrating favouritism towards any specific viewpoint or party.

Photojournalism and ethics

The following are commonly accepted ethical guidelines for photojournalists adopted by most mainstream media.

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

Examining rumour to find facts

The role of a journalist is to publish facts. To do that they often have to examine rumour and gossip as part of the newsgathering process.

Creating a current affairs programme

In this article we look at the steps involved in creating a radio news and current affairs programme based on the needs of the target audience.

Making documentaries for radio

Documentaries are in-depth stories told in a more interesting way. A great documentary engages listeners and puts them at the heart of the storytelling.

Investigative Journalism

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR INVESTIGATIVE SECTION

Investigating official documents

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

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.

Tips for investigative journalism

This article looks at some of the main points to consider when producing a piece of investigative journalism.

Management

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR MANAGEMENT SECTION

Social media in news production

Social media has fundamentally disrupted the media landscape, forcing traditional outlets to confront their operational models and redefine their role in a rapidly evolving information ecosystem.

The role of the hands-on editor

A hands-on editor should lead by example, be present for breaking news, and communicate well. They must trust staff, praising publicly and correcting privately.

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

Collaborative journalism explained

Newsroom collaboration empowers diverse media outlets to produce original, in-depth investigative reports, broadening the reach and impact of modern journalism.

Community radio project plan

Launching a community radio station is a complicated exercise with lots of overlapping elements. The most important thing to do, before you do anything else, is to stop and think.

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

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?

Doorstepping – scenario

You are a local newspaper reporter sent out to doorstep a bereaved family but you lie to your news editor because you are reluctant to intrude on their grief. 

Emotional assumptions – scenario

In this scenario a journalist lets their own emotional assumptions colour their news judgement resulting in misinformation.

Training of Trainers - ToT

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR TRAINING OF TRAINERS SECTION

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: Training of Trainers (ToT)

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

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 Tools

SAMPLE ARTICLES FROM - OUR TRAINING TOOLS SECTION

Tool: Gap analysis in media training

'Gap analysis' is an essential part of any 'training of trainers' (ToT) programme because it helps identify the specific needs of participants.

Tool: Training of Trainers (ToT)

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

Tool: SMART objectives for media training

Those delivering media training need to focus on SMART objectives, which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound.

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.

MHM on FacebookCheck our Facebook page for regular updates from Media Helping Media.

Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0The content on Media Helping Media (MHM) is released via Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0.