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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: Motivating news teams
Aspiring editors must inspire, not just instruct. Learn how to foster a creative environment and lead your newsroom to success.
Quick Guide: Crime reporting for beginners
Crime reporters must balance public interest with ethics and accuracy. While generalists are key, specialists provide the depth needed for true insight.
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: 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: Creating a story plan
This checklist is designed to help news journalists include the most important elements of a story when covering a complex issue.
Quick Guide: Conducting interviews remotely
This checklist sets out the main considerations when conducting an interview remotely if an interviewee is not available for a face-to-face meeting.
Quick Guide: The role of a sub-editor
A sub-editor is a newsroom's final line of defence, transforming raw copy into accurate, engaging, and professional journalism.
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: 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: Language and style
Writing clear impactful sentences and choosing the right language, style and tone is essential for all news journalists.
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: 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.
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