One in Four believes that the media should be open to all and that people should have the best opportunity possible to use media and writing to bring about change.

One in Four now offers training courses in

  • citizen journalism

  • newsletter and magazine production.

These courses can be bought in by organisations, community groups and services. This training is affordable, practical, laid back and develops essential media skills. It gives people the confidence they need to get their messages and experiences into the open.

What is Citizen Journalism?

Traditional journalists find out and report the news in newspapers, on TV and in the radio.  Citizen Journalists are people who aren’t professional journalists who use the skills of journalism to report on what’s happening, often working from personal involvement.  Citizen Journalists are changing traditional journalism.  Many bloggers are Citizen Journalists.

Citizen Journalists are a genuine and powerful force for social change.

One in Four training is discussion and activity based – it’s not a set of lectures.

All courses are adaptable, to make sure that they best fit the abilities and needs of those taking them.

Citizen journalism training can be useful for people who

  • Want to represent themselves effectively
  • Want to start or develop a newsletter or publication
  • Are interested in blogging
  • Who want to extend the reach of their service and its users into social media
  • Want to make the world sit up and listen

It’s a good way of making sure people have the skills, confidence and knowledge to begin to face outwards and take advantage of media opportunities to publicise services, organisations and experiences.

One in Four training gets people ready to understand how news is made and then begin to make it themselves.

One in Four can also offer training and support to groups and organisations that want to start or improve their own newsletters or magazines.

The courses that One in Four offer can be adapted to fit any group of people.

Prices for a one day course, including essential skills and knowledge for people wanting to begin their citizen journalism career, start at £600 for up to ten people.

One in Four can provide varying levels of support and training over varying schedules.

Contact Mark Brown, Editor of One in Four at editor@oneinfourmag.org for more information.

What’s it like to take a One in Four course?

Some feedback from people who have already taken One in Four courses:

“I found all of it very useful. Hopefully I can put what I have learnt to good use. I found the most useful understanding the press from their perspective. It gave me insight. I feel I have learnt a lot about the techniques involved in journalism and feel very confident in using them when I get the chance. Skills learnt: interviewing and writing articles. I think that I have learnt what I need to for now. I will hopefully use these skills to help create a research film into experiences of psychosis.”

“I have found the session very informative and explained in a way that helped to keep me relaxed so as to be able to take on board what was being explained. I would like to say thank you very much and I hope to be able to use the information in the future to help me with my progress.”

“I found the workshops very accessible and very helpful studying journalism. I have more confidence in newspapers and magazines I read.”

“I learnt about capturing reader’s interest, being concise and providing information effectively. The course provides effective guidance to writing and stimulates a positive attitude amongst the people taking part.”

“I especially enjoyed the week when we did interviewing techniques, but I’ve enjoyed immensely the whole four sessions. I’ve learnt some useful stuff: how to hone down a story, interviewing tips, getting the reader’s attention. I’d like to give a big thank you to the facilitators for giving their time and expertise to do the course. I wish there was another one!”

“Good dynamics, sharing work, the quality of teachers, learning process made easy. I learnt about writing an article with the minimum amount of fuss – tight, concise, to the point and no waffle. The group, under the guidance of the journalists, was energising and rewarding. I am confident to write a positive article.”

“I found all of the course useful because I have learnt something every session. I have improved my writing, especially in how to structure a newspaper article. I feel confident about using my newly acquired skills. I would like to have had more time to consolidate and practice what I learned. I really enjoyed the course and would have liked it to have been longer.”

“A very good and informative course. I learnt how to put a story together, how to make it punchier and how to work your mind harder to improve.”

“The course was brilliantly put together and both instructors were very astute in their feedback and also in their delivery. It was such a pleasure to come to a course led by lovely, humane people. I learned a lot and wish I could achieve more – much more.”