The Values-aware journalism toolkit, the culmination of our work as part of the Values in the Media project, has been a labour of love for the past two years, and it’s finally out in the world.

You can read it online or download it at valuesawarejournalism.org.

We’ve spent those two years having hundreds of conversations with journalists about their values. What’s struck us most is that the vast majority of people working in the media go into it because they want to be in service to the world – because they care, deeply. But many feel a huge disconnect between the values that motivated them to do this work and those they see in the systems and institutions around them.

That disconnect matters – not just for the wellbeing of journalists, but for all of us. Whether we like it or not, values permeate every piece of news coverage. Every choice about what to cover, how to frame it and whose voice to centre shapes what seems normal, possible or impossible in our culture. Those choices are rarely made consciously. They’re shaped by things like habit, convention, commercial pressure and deadline.

The toolkit is for journalists who want to better understand how values are embedded in their work, and what impact this has on their audience and the wider public.

How you can help

If you know journalists, editors, journalism educators or media workers, please pass it on. 

And if you’re on LinkedIn and Bluesky, a share would mean a great deal; it’s the best way to reach people we don’t yet know.