How Study Visits are boosting innovation across Europe’s independent newsrooms

As part of the Journalism Value Project’s ongoing efforts to strengthen independent media across Europe, we are proud to launch a new Study Visit Toolkit – a practical guide for newsrooms wishing to learn from one another and create tangible, lasting improvements. Through these exchanges, media teams from Reference – The Independent Media Circle have spent the past year learning from one another through immersive, hands-on exchanges.

These visits aren’t about observation, they’re about collaboration. When The Bristol Cable travelled to Lisbon to meet with Fumaça, the focus was on improving podcast production and member engagement. In another exchange, Átlátszó Erdély explored community-building strategies with Mensagem de Lisboa.

These experiences have proven that learning can occur outside traditional settings, through hands-on collaboration, candid exchanges, and even informal conversations over coffee. Through each visit, newsrooms continued to build lasting cross-border partnerships and stronger editorial practices.

To help others do the same, the Journalism Value Project is launching the Study Visit Toolkit, a practical guide for organising newsroom exchanges. Drawing from real experiences, the toolkit covers how to set clear goals, plan collaboratively, foster social connection, and document insights for shared growth.

These exchanges can be transformational, especially at a time when independent journalism faces mounting pressures. This toolkit is a call to action: learn from one another, adapt, and together build a more resilient media landscape.

We invite all independent newsrooms to use this resource, adapt it to their contexts, and continue the cycle of learning and sharing. By Zoltán Sipos and Johanna Pisco

Download the Study Visit Toolkit here.

Download the Study Visit Plan Worksheet here.