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Media Helping Media is hosted by the Fojo Media Institute at Linnaeus University.
Quick Guides
Our free quick guides are short checklists designed as self-teaching aids highlighting the main points from some of our training articles. All are linked to the articles they summarise. Visit our site map for all the content in this and other sections.
Quick Guide: Reporting on a news event
This checklist sets out what journalists should do when covering a live news event, including preparation and how to respond to the unexpected.
Quick Guide: Respecting privacy in news
Journalists must balance privacy with robust public interest reporting. This might require necessary and justified interference to ensure thorough coverage.
Quick Guide: Writing clearly
As a journalist, facts are vital. While accuracy provides the truth, clarity ensures your audience actually understands it.
Quick Guide: Visual storytelling
TV reporting is about letting pictures tell the story. Here is how to build a package by thinking visually first to engage your audience.
Quick Guide: Avoiding self-censorship
Avoid the self-censorship trap with our quick guide checklist. Learn to identify warning signs and discover practical ways to protect your editorial voice.
Quick Guide: How to deal with press releases
Press releases serve the issuer’s agenda, not yours. Treat them as a starting point. Verify, add context, and, if appropriate, turn them into impactful stories.
Quick Guide: Plain writing
Effective news writing clarifies meaning through precise, simple language. Learn how to make your reports easily digestible for every reader.
Quick Guide: Reporting conflict
Reporting from conflict zones requires sensitivity, historical depth, and cultural awareness. A journalist must always put people before the story.
Quick Guide: Parliamentary reporting
Reporting on parliament is a democratic essential requiring the skill to turn complex debates into clear, engaging stories for the public.
Quick Guide: Citizen journalism
Learn to turn simple observations into professional news stories. This guide covers adding depth and context to your reporting.
Quick Guide: Spotting errors in writing
All journalists must check their writing, but it is often difficult to see our own mistakes. Try our checklist of tips to help you spot errors.
Quick Guide: Assessing news value
As a journalist, your primary job is to find information that is interesting, relevant, and important to your audience. Not every event is news.
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