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What we do

Mission & vision

Our mission is to help improve social mobility within and diversify the media industry; to advocate for, financially support and educate those from lower socio-economic backgrounds who aim for a career in the media.

Our vision is for the UK media to provide real opportunities and representation for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Our charity actively seeks to include underrepresented communities in our programme planning and delivery to ensure that people with direct experience are supported and safe to co-design and lead on the work we do.

Camera Setup for Interview
Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash

Programmes

We have many ideas, and these are the ones we are focusing on in the coming months:

Training - Industry knowledge

Training

After contributing to the running of two successful seasons of remote training via our social enterprise and the PressPad Remote programme, we are re-purposing the training into themed online short courses, making advice tailored to career goals for aspiring journalists and those seeking to work in the media.

Industry panels

Many of our friends, partners, and other members of our wider community are experts within different areas of the media industry. This variety of expertise allows us to create interesting panel discussions about topics and aspects supporting our wider mission and/ or helping others seeking advice on what it’s like working in the media.

Fellowships

Supporting future journalists while partnering with innovative publications across the UK. More coming soon.

Support

Career support

We offer tailored 1-2-1 CV, cover letter, and job application advice. These 30-minute sessions are delivered by a media industry professional.

Peer support

The importance of peer-to-peer networking is often underestimated but this type of networking can be crucial to shape and enhance careers within the sector. Our aim is to create a network within our community – and support both industry professionals and those at the start of their career in making the most of this unique opportunity to connect, learn, and grow.

Financial support

Thanks to the imminent launch of our sister social enterprise’s digital platform, we are raising funds for bursaries. Whether it is because your organisation is not using the platform or that extra help is needed, we are here to support.

Advocacy

Thought Leadership

We strive to be the leaders of new ways of thinking to support our mission. We have become known to talk about important topics and current events surrounding diversity in the media industry frequently, including our discussions on the state of the creative industries’ social mobility, nepotism, confidence of young people, and lack of opportunities outside expensive cities.

PressPad previously gave evidence to the House of Lord Select Committee and will continue to produce our own research while collaborating with key players in the industry.

Frameworks

We believe the only way to move forward is by working together. To this end, we are working on a framework to support organisations in becoming more diverse.

Impact

We measure our impact through regular data and testimonial collections from all those who take part.

3562

tracked event attendees/views of our resources between April and November 2021

9/10

is how useful our attendees found our sessions

9/10

is the extent to which they left the session with new things to try

1/3

say their parents have qualifications below degree level or no formal qualifications

96%

say their parents did not work in the media industry

63%

are from outside London

Young Journalist Laughing
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

These sessions make a much-needed bridge between those who have contacts in the media industry and those who don’t. I’m genuinely grateful PressPad is working on making media opportunities achievable for everyone.

It was nice to talk to others in the industry in a casual setting. I find it interesting to hear about other people’s motivations and the different paths they take to get into the industry. I hope I will continue to see the work of the people I connected with on social media.

It was great to speak to someone working in the media industry one-to-one and to have a more informal and less guided chat – it was also a lot more personal and you wouldn’t really get that opportunity anywhere else.

Published impact reports

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