B2B editors say they lack digital training
A new survey of editors of business-to-business publications finds that four out of five report that they had a day or less of corporate-sponsored digital training in 2009.
The survey of 273 B2B editors by the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the Medill School at Northwestern University was conducted in November. It also found that 38 percent of the editors said they spend at least half their time with digital content.
“The lack of company-sponsored training, let alone adequate training, is a major concern,” said the society’s associate director, Robin Sherman, in a news release. “Apparently, what skills most senior-level editors do have were learned and paid for on their own.”
The survey had a margin of sampling error of 7 percent, according to a story at the ASBPE Web site.
The full results will be posted by April 1 on www.asbpe.org and linked to at www.mediamanagementcenter.org.
One avenue for digital training for business journalists is the multimedia track being offered by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at the SABEW Conference in Phoenix. The conference from March 19-21 is at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, which is also the home of the Reynolds Center.
The first multimedia session – “Produce a Business News Video in a Day” – is before the conference on March 18. Other hands-on sessions are “How to Look Natural On Air” on March 19, “Produce a Business News Podcast” on March 20 and “Take Compelling Business News Photos” on March 21. No previous video experience or equipment is required, but participants can bring their own camera and audio recorder if they like. Space is limited, and registration is required.
The multimedia sessions are offered at no additional charge, and the Reynolds Center is also offering two $1,000 scholarships to attend the conference, with preference given to those attending all four sessions of the multimedia track. Deadline to apply is March 1. SABEW is also offering 10 scholarships to the conference; deadline is March 5.
