Project Archive

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The Media Action Group for Mental Health (MAGMH), established in 2000, is a Registered Charity that works to promote positive, accurate and realistic images of mental ill health and of people who live with mental distress. Our aim is to eradicate the stigma and discrimination that surround mental ill health.

Mind in the Media skills training programmme The 'Mind in the Media' training course equipped participants - who all had experience of mental ill health, either personally or as a carer - with the skills to engage confidently with the local media and challenge stigma and prejudice by a number of means. These included: learning good interview techniques; how to respond effectively to negative media coverage and encourage positive and informed reporting of mental health issues; how to write effective press releases; being aware of your rights and how to protect yourself, including issues of confidentiality. Trainees often went on to give personal testimonies either in The Sentinel or on local radio.

EAU: Equalities Advisory Unit and Equalities Guide The Equalities Advisory Unit worked on producing an Equalities Guide or 'toolkit' that collated information about current equality issues for use by the voluntary and community sector across Stoke-on-Trent. It mapped existing practice models, identified models of good practice, and produced a guide that covered ways to implement equality issues both in preparation and already in existence.

Media Savvy The Media Savvy project aimed to help all members of the local community have their voices heard and be accurately represented in the media. It challenged stigma and discrimination towards marginalised communities across Stoke-on-Trent, and encouraged greater community cohesion and awareness of cultural difference across the City.
Media Savvy worked towards ensuring accurate and realistic media representation for communities across Stoke-on-Trent, especially hard-to-reach and vulnerable groups like asylum seekers and refugees, older people, gypsies and travellers and young people. Members of different communities were trained with relevant skills to engage effectively and positively with a range of media. Training consisted of full six-week courses, intensive 2-day courses and 'bitesize' sessions tailored to the requirements of the groups involved.

Talkbank was established to provide a database of people who are prepared to talk to the media about their experience of mental ill health, wheather that experience is first-hand or as a carer. The Talkbank project included an 8 week training course to teach media skills and the Talkbank members produced their own quarterly newspaper the Talkbank Times which was distributed locally.
To see examples of Talkbank members' work click here

Mindbloggling was an innovative web based project, designed to give people experiencing the effects of mental ill health a voice. The Mindbloggling Blog Library page is filled with links to the project participants' 'web logs' or 'blogs' that are personal thoughts published on the web. These can be anything from a written diary, notice board, photo gallery or even an audio or video log. To view the Blog Library click here

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