Hosted by the Fojo Media Institute
Media Helping Media is hosted by the Fojo Media Institute at Linnaeus University.
Journalism Basics
Our basics section provides foundational knowledge for journalists starting their careers and for those wanting to refresh their skills. Learn techniques including news writing, interviewing, story structure, and reporting practices that form the bedrock of quality journalism. All our material is free to download, adapt and use.
Journalism and the public interest
All news stories should, by definition, be interesting. They should immediately capture the attention and make the audience want to know more.
Adjectives and adverbs in journalism
When it comes to writing - not just news writing but any kind of writing - adjectives and adverbs have a bad reputation.
Developing and handling news sources
News sources are vital for journalists to find essential stories. Without reliable information, reporters would be left staring at a blank page.
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.
Covering a news event
Check our news event coverage guide with tips on preparation, on-site reporting, ethical interviews, and capturing compelling photos and video.
Words that are frequently misused
It's essential for journalists to maintain precision in their use of language, especially when dealing with words that sound or look similar but which carry different meanings.
What is takes to be a journalist
Journalists should be accurate, first with news, trusted, easy to understand, straight, aware, disciplined and realistic.
Developing a news sense
How do we know what is news? There are millions of things going on in the world all the time and only some of them become news stories.
Gender equality in the media
Addressing gender imbalance in media requires a multifaceted approach from journalists, combining personal initiative with essential systemic change.
Clichés, journalese, and jargon
Journalists need to recognise and then avoid using journalese, jargon, and clichés. Their writing must be clear, easy to understand, and informative.
Tool: News story checklist
The follow is a structured checklist tool for journalists to consider in order to ensure they produce strong news stories.
Citizen reporting to citizen journalism
How young citizen reporters in Zimbabwe learnt how to move beyond basic storytelling to produce journalism that properly informs the public debate.
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The content on Media Helping Media (MHM) is released via Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0.