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.
Crime reporting for beginners
Crime journalists must balance the public’s right to know with ethics, ensuring accuracy and sensitivity while avoiding sensationalism or prejudice.
What is takes to be a journalist
Journalists should be accurate, first with news, trusted, easy to understand, straight, aware, disciplined and realistic.
Including the human angle in news
For news organisations to succeed, they must attract and retain audiences. The human touch is vital for building trust and engagement.
Editorialising is not for news
The free training materials on Media Helping Media are all aimed at encouraging one particular kind of journalism: accurate, fact-based, impartial news reporting.
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.
In journalism, good writing is plain writing
The purpose of news writing is to convey meaning clearly and effortlessly by using precise, comprehensible, and easily digestible words.
Constructing a news package for radio
This is a short training module setting out the basics for creating a news package for radio. It's been created for those starting out in radio journalism.
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. One of them is SIFT.
The active and passive voices in news
Make your news writing more interesting by using the “active voice”. Bob Eggington explains this simple and effective technique.
Why some news stories are rejected
There will be times when a news story is withheld from publication, we look at why, what changes might be needed, and how to make sure a story is ethical and legally safe.
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.
Militaristic words used in journalism
Militaristic words in journalism distort reality and dehumanise people. They're used out of habit rather than a deliberate search for accuracy and clarity.
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Content released under Creative Commons
The content on Media Helping Media (MHM) is released via Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0.