Training

OPC’s Training Archive

Browse our archive of videos and stories from our “Meet the Winners” series and other events aimed at helping students and colleagues in the field.

Video: Freelancing Safely, Part II

Useful Sources: What Should Be the Relationships of Reporters to Diplomats, Especially in Times of Crisis?

From the Outside In: A panel with photojournalists and editors on best practices for international reporting. 

When Journalists Are Targets: A panel discussion about the growing trend of journalist abductions and murders following the brutal killing of James Foley and Steven J. Sotloff.  

Adriana Gomez Licon: On how to stay safe when reporting in hostile areas.

Steve Stecklow: On tips for investigative journalism and reporting on countries like Iran where journalists are not allowed. 

Other Resources

Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues (RISC) trains and equips freelance journalists to treat life-threatening injuries on the battlefield.  

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma trains journalists and provides support to colleagues with newsroom mentoring, briefings, seminars and peer-support programs. 

Frontline Club offers multi-disciplinary workshops to teach traditional media skills training as well as new media and digital storytelling skills.

Rory Peck Trust provides funding for hostile environment training for freelancers. To qualify, applicants must have worked as a freelancer in news gathering and/or current affairs for a minimum of 18 months. 

The International News Safety Institute (INSI) provides basic safety training free of charge to over 2,000 news media personnel in 30 countries. The training consists of tailor-made packages designed to meet the needs of local and regional journalists, addressing their specific requirements. Their book, No Woman’s Land: On the Frontlines with Female Reporters is dedicated to the safety of female journalists and was critically acclaimed when it was published in March 2012.

The International Center for Photography in New York offers more than 400 courses that range from traditional film and darkroom practice to digital media. Options include short-term classes and workshops that last one day, one weekend, one week—or longer. Address questions to education@icp.org

Watch a video with Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, who waswho was imprisoned in Cairo for 400 days, talks to INSI about the #FreeAJStaff campaign and media safety.

Global Journalist Security provides hostile environment courses and other training for journalists, aid workers and human rights defenders.        

Free Training Manuals

Committee to Protect Journalists: Journalists Safety Guide: Covering the News in a Dangerous and Changing World – Committee to Protect Journalists. Handbook has a section on domestic journalism and deals with practical issues such as approaching checkpoints and hostile subjects. Available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, Somali, Farsi, Portuguese and Chinese.

Reporters Without Borders: Handbook for Journalists. Lists of useful tips and excellent chapter on safety behind the lines. Available in English, French, Urdu and Kurdish.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting: IWPR Training Manual. Contains chapter on journalist safety and is available in English, Arabic, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tajik.

International Center for Journalists: Disaster and Crisis Coverage. Contains chapters on managing crisis coverage, reporting crises and staying safe. 

South East Europe Media Organization: SEEMO Safety Net Manual. Includes chapter on reporting during demonstrations, social unrest and other violent situations. Twelve different language versions available for all SEEMO countries. 

SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom at the Samir Kassir Foundation: The Journalist Survival Guide. The guide will prepare you for action in case of a tear gas attack, shooting, injury and other risks. Available in English and Arabic. 

Internews: Reporting Atrocities: A Toolbox for Journalists Covering Violent Conflict and Atrocities. The 7-chapter guide features a whole section on practical strategies for keeping yourself safe in a warzone. 

Dart Center for Journalism and TraumaTragedies and Journalists. The free PDF lists ways for journalists to battle the psychological effects of covering traumatic events.