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Online media essentials package

Upgrade your media outlet with three packages of templates you can download, adapt and use completely free.

Enhance data protection, digital security and basic online media standards – with simple templates available in all local languages and scripts. Use these documents to ensure that your media outlet has basic legal, technical and security standards applied.*

Data Privacy

Data privacy and protection are crucial for every media outlet to protect the data privacy of their audience, subscribers, clients, or employees.

See tips and download templates of two essential documents that will help you regulate this crucial area in accordance with the law, and avoid data breach or possible fines.

Privacy policy

Download and customize this template to ensure that all data collection activities in your media outlet are regulated by the law.

Privacy Policy

Download and customize this template to ensure that all data collection activities in your media outlet are regulated by the law.

Do you collect sensitive personal information about your website visitors, and in what way? Have your visitors been informed about this?

Everyone who collects and uses personal data such as names, emails, or IP addresses is obliged to inform their visitors about it by law, which is why it is standard practice to make your Privacy Policy public on your website.

Adaptation: The document’s footnotes explain how to adapt this template for specific media needs. In this regard, it is necessary to include media-specific information within each point (title) and the information regarding data processing that is not performed. After completing the text with the necessary information, the footnotes should be deleted before the Privacy Policy is published on the website.

Use: The text of the Privacy Policy should be publicly available on the website.

Important tips:

  • The Privacy Policy template in front of you is an example of how media can define processing of the personal data collected through their website. The titles in this template contain the required information that the controller (media) needs to provide according to the rules of the GDPR.
  • If the controller does not collect any personal data, it is recommended to publish such an announcement on the website.

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Records of activities regarding personal data processing

Get a clear overview of activities and responsibilities regarding data collection and processing in your media outlet with this template.

Records of activities regarding personal data processing

Get a clear overview of activities and responsibilities regarding data collection and processing in your media outlet with this template.

Do you know who collects and processes personal data in your media, or in what way and why? Where are they located, and who has access to information about your employees, clients or subscribers?

Adaptation: Fill in and adapt the sample table to suit the needs and resources of your media. Describe the specific processing activities in each line. Use as many rows until you list all the processing activities.

Usage: This document is for internal media use.

Important tips:

  • Records of how the controller (media) processes personal data are not a direct requirement prescribed by the GDPR and its laws. However, such laws regulate the responsibility of the controller to have a document called "Records of activities regarding data processing."
  • These records are, essentially, a list of processes which the controller uses to collect and manage personal data. Essentially, we can say that by making a list of processes/activities regarding personal data processing and by using this table, the controller simultaneously maps their data processing activities. At the same time, this same document can be a record of processing activities (all these expressions are practically synonymous).

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Digital Security

Digital security is of key importance for any organisation, especially media outlets, since they handle sensitive information.

Therefore, it is considered good practice to have internal documents which contain various organisational policies and procedures, such as a password policy, an email and account policy, a security plan, as well as a risk assessment document.

Password policy

Download and use this template to avoid risks of leaking, misusage or losing your online accounts.

Password policy

Download and use this template to avoid risks of leaking, misusage or losing your online accounts.

Do you know who has passwords to your media outlet’s social media accounts such as your media outlet Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn page or YouTube account? Are you sure that those passwords are strong and securely stored and distributed among your team? 

Password policy is intended to help organisations / media outlets to create a single policy for the use and management of passwords, in order to provide predictability and clarity of procedures. 

Having a Password policy enables media outlets and their teams to ensure secure creation, usage, storage and modification of passwords, as well as the basic authentication and protection mechanism for organisational resources.

Adaption: Media outlets can adapt this template to fit their needs, resources and capacities.

Usage: This document is for internal usage of the media outlet.

Advice: Download and use Email and accounts policy with this document. It is advisable to create a password policy first and apply its provisions to the Email and accounts policy. When doing a Risk assessment and drafting a Security plan, be sure to consider and include these two policies. 

Key issues to consider:

  • Avoid over-regulating: try to keep the policy short and concise, written without too many details and in understandable language. Long and detailed documents written in administrative and legal style are most likely never to be applied in practice.
  • Provide training: help staff understand the policy and give them enough time to practice using password managers and improving their password practices. More tech-savvy staff members should educate those with a lower skill level.

Establish clear procedures: make sure the staff understands the potential risks involving password breaches and how to react when an incident where passwords for organisational resources are targeted.

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Email and account policy

Secure the usage and management of professional email and associated accounts in your media outlet with this policy template.

Email and account policy

Secure the usage and management of professional email and associated accounts in your media outlet with this policy template.

What type of email provider is your media outlet using? Who is responsible for maintenance, security and handling these accounts in your team?  

Having an Email and account policy enables media outlets and their teams to ensure that accounts owned by the media outlet are managed and used in a way that reduces possible harms in terms of digital security. 

Adaption: Media outlets can adapt this template to fit their needs, resources and capacities.

Usage: This document is for internal usage of the media outlet.

Advice: Download and use Passwords policy with this document. Draft a password policy for your media outlet first and apply its provisions to the Email and account policy. When doing a Risk assessment and drafting a Security plan, be sure to consider and include these two policies.

Key issues to consider:

  • Avoid over-regulating: try to keep the policy short and concise, written in understandable language which will not overburden everyday work and the use of professional accounts. Again, keep in mind that long and detailed documents written in administrative and legal style are most likely never to be applied in practice.
  • Provide advice: help staff (employees, interns, volunteers) understand the policy and give them enough time to understand how and for which purposes they may use their professional account once it is provided to them.

Establish clear procedures: make sure that the staff understands how account management works within the media outlet, as it will help them handle their accounts in a more predictable way, which can be important for them when they are about to leave the media outlet.

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Security plan

Develop procedures in the case of a digital security incident and learn how to prevent them with this template.

Security plan

Develop procedures in the case of a digital security incident and learn how to prevent them with this template.  

How is your media outlet handling sensitive communication with your sources? Do you know what to do and who to call in case your media outlet’s website is under a cyber attack? What happens if your communication channels, sensitive documents and other data leaks and get hacked? 

Adaption: All the measures and advice provided in the template for the Security plan are of advisory and exemplary nature. Media outlets can adapt this template to fit their needs, resources and capacities. 

Usage: This document is for internal usage of the media outlet. 

Advice: Download and use templates for Password policy, Email and account policy and Risk assessment with this document. These three documents/policies are key for your Security plan and should be drafted beforehand. In line with the changes to your policies, the Security plan should also be adapted.

Key issues to consider:

  • Avoid overreaching and be ready to adapt: even a highly detailed plan can't cover all the possible scenarios of a digital security incident. Therefore, media outlets should learn from experience, either their own or that of others, and keep an eye out for evolving threats to their digital resources and technical infrastructure.

  • Provide advice and training: help staff understand the policy and learn the steps which will make both them and the media outlet more resilient to technical attacks coming from outside actors, as well as internal security breaches.

  • Establish clear procedures for incident handling: make sure the staff understands what is expected of them in an event of a digital security incident, such as what should be their first reaction, who to contact (e.g. colleagues tasked with ICT infrastructure management) and how to do it securely.

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Risk assessment

Get a better insight in your media outlet’s technical resources and infrastructure, potential risks and threats, as well as vulnerabilities.

Risk assessment

Get a better insight in your media outlet’s technical resources and infrastructure, potential risks and threats, as well as vulnerabilities. 

Do you know what the technical infrastructure of your media outlet is? How many computers, laptops, mobile devices and equipment is owned, used or stored? What type of server is used and is there a chance that digital threats turn into physical threats for your team or media outlet’s facilities? 

Given the evolving nature of security risks in the digital environment, media outlets should regularly assess their strengths and weaknesses and implement changes to their policies and practices.

Adaption: Media outlets can adapt this template to fit their needs, resources and capacities. 

Usage: This document is for internal usage of the media outlet. 

Advice: Download the template and carry out a risk assessment of your media outlet’s digital security practices and capacities. Have in mind that all organisational policies/documents, such as Password policy, Email and account policy and Security plan, should be revised if a Risk assessment shows the need for it.

Key issues to consider:

  • Be informed: follow trends regarding technical attacks and threats, especially against journalists and media, and be prepared to reconsider some of the measures and policies within your media outlet. Make sure that the staff is aware of any new digital security dangers, both in the office and when reporting from the field.
  • Regular updates: assessments need to be done regularly, in specified time frames or when digital security incidents occur. The situation can change very quickly for the media and potential risks need to be considered before they cause major damage.
  • Seek help: if you are unsure of what the risks for your organisation are and don’t have internal capacities, consult an external expert. Be sure that this is someone you can trust, i.e. an expert who has good standing and reputation in the media and the tech community. 

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Online Media Standards

The development of a new media ecosystem that began with the rise of digital environments has greatly changed the traditional media landscape which was a one-way communication system.

These days media legislation is not in position to follow these developments and ethical rules are of great importance especially in the ever changing online environment.

Impressum

Introduce basic reliability, accountability and transparency about your media outlet with this template for impressum.

Procedures for publishing media content (Credits)

Download and use these short guidelines to clearly and transparently credit the content on your media outlet web portal.

Guidelines for transparent modification of media content

Use these guidelines to ensure that your media outlet is transparently handling modification or withdrawal of online content on your web portal.

Access Online Media Standards templates

*Available templates are good practice examples on how a certain area should be regulated. Templates may be downloaded, modified and used to develop documents, policies and procedures for media outlets. Thomson Foundation is not responsible for modifications made in the templates nor for their implementation in practice.
Online media essentials package is developed within the Media for All project, funded by the UK Government and implemented by the British Council, Thomson Foundation, BIRN and INTRAC.

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