Bringing power to your story
The world of news is changing and so is the way we tell our stories. The multi-award-winning Digital News Academy equips journalists and editors with up-to-the-minute tools, techniques and insights required to succeed, now and into the future.
A powerful collaboration
News Corp Australia, Google and Melbourne Business School have joined forces to drive the Digital News Academy; the first partnership of its kind in the world to offer a curriculum dedicated to digital storytelling, designed for the working journalist. Combining deep expertise in journalism, technology and education, these forward-thinking organisations give participants unique access to a range of national leaders and global experts.
A powerful panel of experts
Each year, 250 journalists, editors and publishers from News Corp and other participating news organisations – more than 20 joined in 2022 – will attend a nine-month virtual program, split into three modules. They will be mentored by leading digital media experts from Australia and around the world.
A powerful curriculum
The Academy shows learners how cutting-edge technologies can be used to enhance their practice.
Ranging from multimedia, vertical storytelling, data journalism, and verification to in-depth investigative reporting, participants hear from some of the best practitioners in Australia and the world, drawn from the news industry and Google's global talent pool.
Learners graduate with knowledge of how the business of journalism works, including audience engagement and ways to attract new audiences.
The Digital News Academy's commitment is to provide the toolkit, skillset and mindset that help journalism practitioners at all levels of the profession discover what’s new and what’s possible, through an innovative learning approach and a supportive environment.
The program includes vibrant self-paced interactive content, delivered by a cutting-edge mobile phone app designed for busy journalists on the go, and the chance to learn in live virtual environments with and from peers from newsrooms across the country world.
There are also two high-profile in-person events each year – the US Study Tour for up to 25 24 learners, and an all-in live learning event hosted in an Australian capital city where learners get to meet up, share ideas and experience the best of the Academy in person.
The Digital News Academy is an exciting, world-leading approach to developing today’s journalists and fostering future industry leaders.
Global Recognition
The Digital News Academy has won numerous prestigious international awards for excellence in content, e-learning, partnership and ecosystem development.
The DNA was also a finalist in the 2022 University of Melbourne Faculty of Business and Economics & Melbourne Business School Deans’ Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Awards.
Driven by powerful insights
%
of respondents report Digital News Academy curriculum translates directly to practice *based on Impact surveys.
%
of respondents typically agree/somewhat agree the Digital News Academy experience was useful *based on Learner Experience surveys.
%
identify Digital News Academy journalism practices as useful to their work *
* Based on a total of 108 learners who responded to an MBS impact survey.
The Digital News Academy represents the best training I’ve had in almost 20 years as a journalist. The program has given me the tools and confidence to improve reader engagement (eg video and interactive graphics resulting in more time spent on site), boost social media performance (2m+ video views on TikTok) and develop techniques for more effective journalism (using spreadsheets tools to drive data stories).