FAQs
Q. What is the Media Standards Trust?
A. The Media Standards Trust is an independent, not-for-profit organisation which aims to find ways to foster high standards in news (see About Us)
Q. What do you do?
A. We organise news debates, conduct media research and develop initiatives (see Journalisted, The Orwell Prize and the Transparency Initiative).
Q. How do I participate in the debates?
A. For information about live debates, go to News Debates, or browse our archive of online debates.
Q. Are you a think tank?
A. Not really, we will do research projects, like a think tank, but they will always be done for a practical purpose – to answer specific questions about standards in news and/or to develop particular projects.
Q. Will your online projects be open source?
A. The code we develop for our pilots will be open source, unless some compelling situation arises forcing a project not to be.
Q. Aren't there other people doing this already?
A. No. There are academic centres, most of which focus on teaching people the practical skills of journalism and news production. There is the excellent new Reuters Institute for Journalism at Oxford University - which is doing fascinating in-depth international news studies. But there are no independent, action oriented organisations like this one
Q. How do I contact you?
A. Email martin.moore@mediastandardstrust.org, or call the office on 0207 608 8149, or contact gavin.freeguard@mediastandardstrust.org on 0207 608 8105.
Q. How long have you been around?
A. Media Standards Trust was founded in 2006 and launched in the summer of 2007.
Q. Who started it?
A. The idea for the trust emerged from a discussion led by Sir David Bell in Leeds in 2003. Since then it's been developed by David Bell, by Julia Middleton (Common Purpose), Robert Peston (BBC), and Sir Cyril Chantler (Great Ormond Street, King's Fund). See History
Q. Who are you?
A. Martin Moore is the Director. The Board is made up of a mixture of senior figures from the media and civil society (chaired by Sir David Bell - chairman of the FT) - see People
Q. How are you funded?
A. We rely on donations from foundations, organisations and individuals. We take our independence seriously and will not accept money with strings attached. For more details see Funding
Q. Are you a registered charity?
A. Media Standards Trust is a registered charity. The charity number is 1113680.
Q. Do you have a political agenda?
A. No, we are not party political, and the organisation is neither left or right-wing. It is about fostering high standards of news on behalf of the public, that’s it.
Q. Can I help?
A. Yes! We are looking for help. From research to programming to fund-raising. And we always need smart, news obsessed interns. If you're interested, please contact Martin Moore at martin.moore@mediastandardstrust.org
Q. I'm not in Britain - does any of this matter to me?
A. Absolutely. Whilst our home country is the UK, we do not see ourselves as limited to it in any way. We gladly speak to and work with people from outside the UK. People around the world can use and adopt our open source tools and services for use in their own countries. We will also try to learn from similar initiatives around the world
Q. Who built this website, www.mediastandardstrust.org?
A. John O'Dwyer and his team at Simplicity UK (www.simplicityit.co.uk), who also built our Orwell Prize website, www.theorwellprize.co.uk
Q. Where are you based?
A. We're based in the offices of Common Purpose, near Old Street and Barbican tube stations. See Contact Us