Straits Times publisher SPH Media Trust has launched a new media academy and is offering scholarships as part of a ‘transformation journey’ to extend its digital reach.
A launch event at SPH Studios this week outlined plans for the academy, which will train new hires and help current SPH journalists upgrade their skills. Working with industry veterans and institutions including the Poynter Institute, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and the Tsinghua University School of Journalism and Communication, it will initially be open only to SMT staff. Eventually however, courses will be available to journalists from other media companies in Singapore and regionally.
SMT’s new chairman Khaw Boon Wan said he hoped it would help them create a regional network “to deal with our counterparts and get to know one another”.
“They are also being disrupted by the digital revolution and they are also finding their way on how to be a trusted source against misinformation. Everybody has relevant experience to share."
Initially, courses include core topics such as media law and the essentials of digital publishing, as well as a range of courses that focus on producing quality journalism, including fact-checking and reporting on data.
Other courses cover audience strategy, multimedia production, people management, and understanding government affairs, economics and geopolitics. New hires will be required to undergo a foundation programme in their first year, and will receive structured on-the-job training. Reporters at vernacular papers such as Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu are also offered language translation for news reporting.
Deputy editor of the Straits Times Paul Jacob (64), who has been named dean of the academy, said courses would include a mix of on-demand content such as videos and self-paced e-learning modules, as well as live online classes and in-person classes.
Journalists needed to continue learning throughout their careers and lives, and to develop new ways of doing things in a fast-paced industry. "So much is changing in this industry of ours that it often seems that we are having to play catch-up all the time," he said.
Don Yeo, SMT's chief people officer and executive vice-president (corporate), described the academy as a key component of the company's talent development and retention efforts, with senior management committed to providing at least 40 hours of training a year to each staff member.
"This is a demonstration of our commitment to make sure that the newsrooms are resourced well enough to be able to carve out that time for each and every one of you, to provide for your training needs," he said.
SMH is currently offering journalism scholarships to A-level students which include an immediate newsroom internship.
Pictured at the launch (from left): Lee Huay Leng (editor-in-chief of SMT’s Chinese Media Group), Khaw Boon Wan, incoming chief executive Teo Lay Lim, and Paul Jacob (Straits Times photo)