Offering a unique and interactive learning experience
We’re developing an online academy designed to give journalists a lifelong professional education and access to an international community of best practice.
Our research shows there is a very large variance in the quality of journalism education and in the quality of different media houses across Africa and Asia.
Strange as it may seem, there is a gap for an internationally recognised validation of best professional practice in journalism.
To fill that gap, Thomson Foundation decided to design its own e-learning programme called Journalism NOW with the help of global media and education specialists. The academy will teach the universal skills of storytelling and journalistic ethics across print, broadcast and online and will show journalists how to get the best out of the digital world of mobile journalism, coding and social media.
This is a hugely exciting project offering a unique interactive learning experience.
Thomson Foundation’s chief executive, Nigel Baker, says there is an urgent international need for such a project: “We want to fill a yawning void in the international news industry by providing online, vocational training which addresses the challenges faced by journalists in developing countries and emerging economies.
“We aim to create a community of journalists online, and keep on improving our courses by listening to their feedback and needs.”
The academy’s key expert, Chris Birkett says: “This is a hugely exciting project, bringing together some of the industry’s leading practitioners to offer a unique interactive learning experience from people who really know today’s complex media landscape.”
As a founding editor of BBC News and later deputy head of news at Sky News, Chris Birkett brings a sustained record of success in leadership roles in major news organisations.
Among the other industry experts helping to develop the Journalism Now programme are Jamal Osman, an award-winning reporter specialising in sub-Saharan Africa for the UK’s Channel 4 News, and Jon Laurence, online lead at Channel 4 News.
We want to push boundaries. At the heart of the academy sits international validation delivered in focused, interactive modules that will suit busy journalists. We also want to create a lifelong relationship with Thomson Foundation. If you do a course with us, you can join the community with its role models, networks of colleagues and an online stylebook and archive of great journalism.
Lead experts
Chris Birkett
Newsroom leadership, broadcast & digital
Chris specialises training in newsroom leadership and breaking news with more than 30 years experience at news organisations including Sky and the BBC.
Jamal Osman
Investigative journalism
Jamal a multi-award winning journalist specialising in sub-Saharan Africa who is the lead expert for our e-learning module, Your security: Protecting yourself, your media organisation, your sources and your audience.
Sue Llewellyn
Digital and social media
Sue specialises in training in digital and social media. A former BBC journalist, she has been voted one of the Top 50 female innovators in digital journalism.
Deborah Kelly
Director of Training and Communications
About: Deborah plays a key part in developing and promoting our training programmes and is our specialist on gender in media. Her recent training projects have centred on digital and mobile journalism.
Glen Mulcahy
Mobile journalism (mojo) and 360
Glen Mulcahy specialises in training in mobile journalism, video journalism, DSLR filmmaking and photography. He founded Mojocon- the 1st international mobile journalism conference.
Want to discuss this programme?
E-learning opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Initially, we want to target journalists and media organisations in English-speaking countries in Africa and Asia. However, after demonstrating the prototype to British newsroom executives, they have also shown keen interest in what we are creating. For further information on the e-learning initiative, contact us.
