Media literacy starts here.
Impress is the UK’s only Royal Charter-recognised independent press regulator. We’ve built two courses to raise standards in journalism and news literacy from both sides: the people who make the news, and the people who read it.
Choose your course
Creating Ethical Media & Journalism
For journalists, media professionals, students, and content creators
The UK's first professional accreditation in journalism ethics. 40 hours of expert-led content across 9 modules, developed with the University of Huddersfield and Innovate UK, with contributions from the BBC, The New York Times, NPR, and the Poynter Institute. Build your ethical framework, strengthen your legal knowledge, and earn a recognised industry accreditation.
Know The News: A Practical Guide to Understanding Media
For anyone who reads, watches, or listens to the news
A practical 3–4 hour course in media literacy for the general public. Two modules covering how to critically evaluate news sources, spot misinformation and AI-generated content, and know your rights when reporting affects you or your community. Developed with contributions from leading journalism practitioners and experts in the UK.
Overall trust in news in the UK stands at 36%, down from 51% in 2015.
Source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024
“As journalists, we can’t be waiting around for trust to descend on us. We’ve got to go out and seek it.”
– Peter Jukes
Co-founder & Executive Editor, Byline Times
At a time when public trust in journalism has reached record lows, these courses equip both media professionals and the general public with the skills to engage with news ethically and critically. These first-of-its-kind media literacy courses were developed with input from journalists, academics, and experts from organisations including the BBC, The New York Times, and the Poynter Institute.They address the crisis in media trust from both sides of the story.
For journalists and media professionals, the Creating Ethical Media & Journalism accreditation covers fundamental concepts like public interest and truth through to complex legal frameworks around defamation and privacy. Evidence-based and practically focused, it builds the ethical framework, audience trust strategies, and legal knowledge needed to deliver reporting that stands up to scrutiny.
For news consumers, Know The News: A Practical Guide to Understanding Media provides the tools to critically evaluate what you read, spot misinformation and AI-generated content, and understand your rights when reporting falls short.
Whether you’re a professional strengthening your practice or a member of the public navigating an increasingly complex media landscape, both courses offer practical strategies grounded in the same expert knowledge base.
Accreditation / Creating Ethical Media and Journalism
What You'll Learn:
Build expertise across the core competencies that matter most in ethical journalism.
Navigate defamation, privacy law, and investigative reporting with confidence
Ethical approaches to AI, misinformation, and social media in today's complex landscape
Develop credibility through practical strategies for managing bias and transparent practice
How to report on trauma, mental health, and vulnerable communities with care and professionalism
Plus: Receive a certification from Impress recognised across the UK journalism industry and a personal ethics toolkit you’ll use throughout your career.
Media Literacy / Know The News: A Practical Guide to Understanding Media
What You'll Learn:
Build the skills that every informed news consumer needs in today’s media landscape.
How to identify false, misleading, and AI-generated content before it shapes your view
What press regulation means for you as a reader and what publishers are legally and ethically obliged to uphold
What makes a news outlet trustworthy and how to recognise bias, hidden agendas, and one-sided framing
How to challenge inaccurate or harmful reporting, from complaining to a publisher to escalating to a regulator
Plus: Receive a certificate of completion from Impress and a practical media literacy toolkit you’ll return to every time you read the news.
Expert Contributors from Leading Organisations
Both courses draw on the expertise of journalists, academics, and ethics specialists from the world’s most respected news organisations and institutions.
Plus contributions from LevelUp, Sense, Samaritans, MIND, and We Are All Disabled.
"Journalism ethics I think are ultimately a matter of trust, and if you don't have trust of your audience it's a bit of a waste of time. It's absolutely critical that the audience believes what you’re telling them, and sometimes those can be difficult and uncomfortable things, but that's the essence of journalism and so for me those kind of fundamental ethics of impartiality, accuracy, fairness they go to the heart of what we do at the BBC. "
— Richard Burgess
Director of News Content, BBC News
Hear from Our Pilot Cohort
Our pilot cohort of 30 journalists began their accreditation journey in July with support from Microsoft. These are their reflections from our first in-person workshop.
Paul Hutchinson, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Editor of Bedford Independent
“It made me challenge how I approach various different articles, how I respond to criticisms, and what we're writing. The ethical training has helped me to consider things from all angles, whereas perhaps in the past I may not have done.”
Emily Bunder, Youth Correspondent at Ealing News
“I learnt new things, how to actually use AI in our work and the importance of being aware of its growth within journalism. Times are changing. We really need to start thinking forward and courses like this are useful because they’re embarking on a new venture in the journalism industry.”
Carole Dennett, Editor of Isle of Wight Observer
“I have formalised some of the things that we do. With regard to right to reply, we've always given people a right to reply but now we've actually got a policy on, when we do it, how long we give them… it has given us some form to what we do rather than we all just do our own thing. We've actually got a policy now, something that we can discuss and get to a position where we all agree.”
Partnership and Funding Opportunities
We work with newsrooms, foundations, charities, tech platforms, academic institutions, and corporate partners to expand the reach of responsible reporting practices and strengthen journalism standards.
We collaborate with partners across sectors to expand access to ethical journalism training:
- Fund scholarships, sponsor cohorts, or support grant-funded training programs with clear impact reporting.
- Offer co-branded training to your team with volume pricing, progress tracking, and dedicated support.
- Integrate our curriculum, white-label the accreditation, or collaborate on research initiatives.
- Partner on issue-specific content, subsidise training for your communities, or create targeted scholarship programs.
- Develop sector-specific training, sponsor cohorts as part of your CSR initiatives, or explore revenue-sharing models.