One of our journalists has been accepted onto a unique new training programme to learn video skills to deliver credible news online.
Bethia Wyborn, a trainee multimedia journalist for the Okehampton Times and Tavistock Times Gazette in Devon, will be one of only 10 journalists to take part in the inaugural six month scheme organised by Women In Journalism, a not for profit organisation which aims to enable female editorial staff to fulfil their potential.
Beginning in September, the Sophiana x WiJ Fellowship will see journalist Sophia Smith Galer mentor “women and non-binary journalists who want to upskill in online video this year and use TikTok and Instagram to curb misinformation and amplify their reporting”.
Bethia will be able to use Sophiana, a scriptwriting and teleprompter tool developed by Sophia Smith Galer which turns news articles and academic research into algorithm-ready videos.
Launching the project, Sophia Smith Galer said it would enable participants to upskill in Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn journalism and “combat misinformation”.
Mentor support
As well as offering free access to Sophiana for six months, the fellowship allows those taking part to receive mentoring support from Sophia.
Bethia, who joined our company last November after completing a journalism degree at the University of Sheffield, said: “I am pleased to be taking part in the programme following a competitive selection process.
“I am thankful that I have been able to get on to the fellowship because video will be integral to the future of journalism so I look forward to being able to use my new skills to benefit the news titles where I work and my own development.
“A lot of local news titles are missing out by not reaching audiences through video platforms or TikTok but Tindle have been good at encouraging innovative ways of training staff especially online, with room to experiment to see what works.
“I will be committing to producing two videos a week for six months for platforms including TikTok and Reels so there will be a lot more video content for our audiences.”