The Poynter Institute and Gannett announced jointly Thursday a partnership to train the news organization’s journalists, which number in the thousands.
The training, designed to help Gannett achieve its much-discussed push to create “newsrooms of the future” across its news properties, is the largest corporate partnership in Poynter’s 39-year-history.
Poynter is excited to initiate the partnership with Gannett, which is transforming the way news organizations envision the practice of journalism, said Poynter president Tim Franklin.
“We developed this groundbreaking program using all the teaching methods that make Poynter the gold standard in journalism training, from e-learning to in-person coaching to online seminars, Webinars and certificate programs,” Franklin said.
Since Franklin joined Poynter early last year, the institute has initiated partnerships with many corporations including The E.W. Scripps Company, CBS Local Stations Group and Pioneer News Group and continued its relationship with The McClatchy Company. In a strategic plan drafted after Franklin became president, the institute indicated that custom teaching and partnerships would be “a significant part” of its future model.
The training program, which will begin early this year, will instruct Gannett journalists in more than “a dozen job-specific programs” designed to fit into the company’s retooled newsrooms, according to a release from Poynter. The training will be conducted both online and in-person by Poynter’s faculty and on its e-learning platform, NewsU.
Poynter’s Howard Finberg, who has helped lead the institute’s corporate training partnership efforts, notes that the partnership with Gannett will be tailored to its specific needs, not merely a “one-size-fits-all program.”
“What’s exciting is the full range of Poynter programs being used to provide training to thousands of journalists, quickly and efficiently,” Finberg said. “And it’s an opportunity to watch this bold program take shape.”
Gannett appreciates Poynter’s potential for educating its journalists online and its programs that “foster journalistic excellence,” said Kate Marymont, the senior vice president of news for Gannett’s U.S. community publishing.
“We value Poynter’s unique ability to deliver this extraordinary training via its highly respected e-learning platform NewsU and its other programs that foster journalistic excellence,” Marymont said. “This partnership is an investment in continuing each of our journalists’ professional development. The tools used to gather and distribute news change constantly and we are committed to helping journalists stay ahead of the curve.”
The first step of the training program will be a company-wide survey to figure out Gannett’s training needs. Following that, the institute will begin developing the program.
Here’s the release:
Poynter and Gannett Join Forces to Create Transformative Journalism Training Program
Robust, integrated program will help training journalists in the “Newsroom of the Future”Poynter and Gannett Join Forces to Create Transformative Journalism Training Program Robust, integrated program will help training journalists in the “Newsroom of the Future”
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2015) – The Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism education, will partner with the Gannett Co., Inc., the nation’s largest news publisher, to train thousands of Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing journalists.
The training supports a strategic transformation in Gannett’s newsrooms. Each news organization — and each job — has been reshaped and revitalized to serve readers better. The Newsroom of the Future concept is based on ongoing research into changing patterns of news consumers; the training is designed to prepare journalists to stay ahead of those patterns.
Gannett employs the largest force of journalists in the United States. Poynter will partner in the development of training designed for more than a dozen job-specific programs that will include new courses developed specifically for Gannett’s newsroom transformation. The training program will use Poynter’s full and part-time faculty, and its e-learning platform, NewsU.
This represents the largest corporate training program in Poynter’s 39-year history.
“We’re excited to undertake this ambitious training opportunity with a partner like Gannett, which is heavily invested in transforming the way newsrooms envision the practice of journalism,” said Poynter president Tim Franklin. “We developed this groundbreaking program using all the teaching methods that make Poynter the gold standard in journalism training, from e-learning to in-person coaching to online seminars, Webinars and certificate programs.”
“We value Poynter’s unique ability to deliver this extraordinary training via its highly respected e-learning platform NewsU and its other programs that foster journalistic excellence,” said Kate Marymont, senior vice president of news for Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing. “This partnership is an investment in continuing each of our journalists’ professional development. The tools used to gather and distribute news change constantly and we are committed to helping journalists stay ahead of the curve.”
The program will begin in early 2015 with a company-wide assessment of newsroom staffers’ training needs and skills they need to do the jobs required. The survey will build on the work of Poynter’s newsroom training survey, “Constant Training. New Normal or Missed Opportunity,” released in November.
Gannett’s goals include the development of journalists who are audience-focused and able to build and engage those audiences and their communities. Once the training needs assessment is complete, Poynter will shape a tailored program and curriculum specifically designed to address strategic goals.
“This is not a one-size-fits-all program,” said Poynter’s Howard Finberg, who is helping coordinate the training partnership with Gannett. “What’s exciting is the full range of Poynter programs being used to provide training to thousands of journalists, quickly and efficiently. And it’s an opportunity to watch this bold program take shape.”
In addition to the e-learning modules and the in-person workshops, Poynter will create a special area on Poynter NewsU for Gannett employees to make the training easily accessible, similar to the custom areas created for other news organizations.
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is global leader in journalism education, and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world’s largest online journalism curriculum in 7 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 300,000 registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute’s website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world’s top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.
About Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is an international media and marketing solutions company that informs and engages more than 110 million people every month through its powerful network of broadcast, digital, mobile and publishing properties. Our portfolio of trusted brands offers marketers unmatched local-to-national reach and customizable, innovative marketing solutions across any platform. Gannett is committed to connecting people – and the companies who want to reach them – with their interests and communities. For more information, visit www.gannett.com.
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