The Media Standards Trust was formed in 2006 to address concerns of a deterioration in journalistic standards at a time when the media were becoming enormously powerful while remaining largely opaque and unaccountable.

These changes are seen as a consequence of the revolutionary changes in way in which news is produced, funded, packaged, delivered and consumed, and it has led to less accurate reporting, less substantial sourcing, an escalation in the use of "manufactured news", an increase in self-censorship, a growth of subjective over objective reporting, and a reduction in sustained, in-depth reporting on the ground.

To these ends it hosts debates about standards in the news media, conducts research into areas of concern, and hosts on-line projects, as well as co-sponsoring The Orwell Prize.

Foundations which have contributed of the Media Standards Trust include Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, MacArthur Foundation, Nuffield Foundation, Eranda Foundation, Scott Trust.

Paul Moreira (born 1961 near Lisbon, Portugal) is a French journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is based in Paris, France. He has directed several investigative documentaries in conflict zones, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Israel, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

Paul Moreira has contributed to the emergence of investigative journalism on French television. In 1999, in created "90 minutes" on Canal plus, a private European network. The investigations of his team collected several prestigious French awards. The grand prize of the festival du scoop of Angers in 2000. Some of their films like the one about the murder disguised as suicide of Judge Borrel contributed to reopen criminal investigations. Following the success of the show and at the request of the management of Canal Plus, he created a weekly slot dedicated to investigative documentaries: Lundi Investigation. Award winning movies were commissioned and broadcast. Like "Escadrons de la mort : l'école française" by Marie Monique Robin. This film got the award of the political documentary of "Audiovisual Club" of French senate in 2003, best investigative film at FIGRA, award of merit from Latin American Studies Association.