Poynter announces training partnership with Journal Media Group

The Poynter Institute has announced an expanded training partnership with Journal Media Group. It represents the first large-scale news training effort for Journal Media Group since the company was formed as a merger of the newspaper operations of The E.W. Scripps Company and Journal Communications earlier this month.

The alliance with Journal Media Group expands on the innovative training partnership Poynter originally entered with the E.W. Scripps Company's newspaper division a year ago. This new effort affirms JMG's commitment to continued training for its journalists through Poynter.

"Our newsroom teams must grow and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of news consumers," said Mizell Stewart III, managing director/content for Journal Media Group. "Poynter offers a robust catalog of learning opportunities as well as the depth and expertise to customize training to meet our specific needs."

Journal's customized training uses the full scope of Poynter's teaching expertise and will include online courses through Poynter's e-learning platform, News University, entailing in-person Poynter workshops, online group seminars and webinars. Staff in Journal Media Group newsrooms also will be able to earn NewsU certificates from programs created for the company to target and strengthen specific skill sets in digital journalism.

"It says something about Journal Media Group that one of its first official acts as a new company is investing in its journalists through training," said Poynter President Tim Franklin. "I applaud the company's leadership for that. We're thrilled that they turned to Poynter in helping meet their strategic goals and growing the talents of their staff."

As in its original partnership with Scripps, Poynter will maintain what will now be a JMG-branded area on NewsU, where many of the company's e-learning programs will be hosted. Additionally, Journal Media Group will be able to use NewsU's proven technology to assess the impact of the training.

Poynter's original alliance with E.W. Scripps and its expansion through Journal Media Group represents the latest in Poynter's growing list of custom training programs designed to align with an organization's strategic editorial goals. Earlier this year, Poynter announced a major training partnership with the Gannett Co. It also has custom training alliances in place with The McClatchy Co., CBS, NBC, NPR and Pioneer News Group.