Training & Courses
We work with media professionals and faith groups so they can better understand key challenges that surround religion and race. Our courses are led by experienced journalists and trainers.
What's On
Do you work in communications? This online session on 23 November explores how to transform your stories for social media.
This online session on 7 December will examine how religious data is collected and the difficulty in analysing statistics on religion
Media Training
The media landscape is changing fast, and we want to help you understand the best possible ways of getting your story out there. Our media training helps you understand your story, how to decide which platforms to use to tell it, and how to liaise with journalists in print, radio and TV, to tell your story well. We can create a training session to suit your needs, but it might include, for example:
- Media Basics - what is your story and how newsdesks work
- Media Skills - practise how to be interviewed for radio and TV, and how those skills translate to podcasts and YouTube
- Creating Content - learn basic journalist skills in how to interview others, film interviews, take photos and write articles
- Social Media - understanding the different platforms, practising creating content for each one, including making films on your iphone
- Podcasts - producing content and understanding how to record and publish material
Our trainers are Michael Wakelin, former BBC head of religion; Ruth Peacock, experienced journalist now editorial consultant at the RMC; and Oliver Bowring, director of Musicarta Media. We have a list of associate trainers who write for the RMC and specialise in reporting religion. We have trained leaders across many faiths. If you’re interested in organising a bespoke training session, get in touch: [email protected]
"It is so important for journalists to build trust with faith groups locally, and report on them fairly and accurately, so we were delighted to be able to partner with the Religion Media Centre to facilitate such an engaging and enlightening training session for the CNP reporters.”
"For those of us who aren’t religion specialists, the training was an excellent primer on the potential challenges in covering Christianity, Islam and Judaism; the way the religions are addressed in the media; and examples of recent stories – with analysis of how they were covered."
Reporting Race and Religion
Learn how to report sensitive stories on race, religion, and ethnicity with accuracy and nuance. The Religion Media Centre, in partnership with reporter Amardeep Bassey, offers a masterclass covering demographics, avoiding misrepresentation, and finding credible voices. Perfect for journalism educators and developing in-house training.
Religious Literacy
We recognise that journalists are often asked to write about faith communities about which they have little or no knowledge, which can make the task daunting. We also know there are many stories out there that are not reported at all, and that trust and communication have broken down too often between faith groups and the media. We offer courses in religious literacy, from 90 minutes to a whole day, filling in gaps of knowledge and addressing challenges.
