Training in the Newsroom in Greenville, N.C.
On June 7 and 8, SPJ conducted six newsroom training courses at the Daily Advocate in Greenville, N.C. Staff members from three area Cox North Carolina Newspapers joined us for the training.
SPJ Professional Development Chair Deb Wenger led sessions on writing for the Web; audio and images for the Web; and creating video for the Web. All three sessions are part of our relatively new multimedia training series.
When Mike Schwartz, manager of editorial training for COXnet & Cox Newspapers, introduced the program, he commended SPJ for reaching out to our industry, looking for emerging needs, and providing such a valuable and economical training program. In a message after the training, Schwartz wrote that the programming “… was relevant, useful and easily transferable back on the job. If the participants apply what they learned it should move them more quickly into the multimedia world they all must embrace.”
After the video session, a participant wrote in her evaluation, “… I’m excited about video now rather than dreading that I might have to shoot sometime.” That’s good news for her, for her newspaper and for our profession.
Speaking of the newspaper, newsroom leaders at the Daily Reflector talked with us after the program about how they could start putting the training to work immediately. They recognized that lessons are often lost if they’re not quickly institutionalized, and they want to ensure that they’ll see their investment pay off in the coming weeks. We’re looking forward to seeing that, too.