Göteborg: Daily Telegraph: "One week courses are an investment for the future"

"We have to make sure our journalists have the right skills." Thats how the idea of a training program started at the Daily Telegraph. Speaking at the 15th World Editors Forum, Chris Lloyd, Assistant Managing Editor, discussed the one-week training program that the Telegraph implemented to help its newsroom adapt to multimedia.

During the program, 20 people from different sections of the newspaper were taken from their daily jobs for one week, and divided into working groups. Under the leadership of consultants and the paper's editors, the participants learned how to produce audio and video as well as how to write for the Web.

"The training was especially a challenge, since many of our journalists haven´t been in a class room for 20 years," said Lloyd. Some journalists were at first reluctant to undergo the training, but were very happy they did so after the week was over. Many had never met each other before and the classes worked as a means of socializing and creating bonds within the newsroom where there were none before. One element that  contributed to the success of the program was the presence of newsroom execs. "Good leadership from our editors was very important," said Lloyd.

The project took much management, editorial and planning time. But the courses are an important part of Daily Telegraph's swift from a traditional media organisation to a modern one. "Training is an investment for the future," said Lloyd.