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.
The Digital News Academy has already been such a great asset to my new career. At university, I never had the chance to meet with such leading industry professionals and the assignments given directly relate to my everyday job.
Brittany Carlson – NCA, Digital Journalist/Reporter
The Digital News Academy has led to one of our Academy participants travelling to New York to document a group of Indigenous fashion designers as they grow their brand on the world stage. The success of the program has furthered the National Indigenous Times’ digital storytelling aspirations.
Reece Harley – National Indigenous Times, Chief Operations Officer
“The Digital News Academy is a brilliant course which has allowed me to advance my digital skills and create important additional assets for stories that are advantageous to our readers. I highly recommend this course to keep up with the rapidly-changing media environment.”
Sophie Elsworth, Media Writer - News Corp Australia and Sky News Australia
"The DNA has 100 percent accelerated the transition from print to digital. The DNA has made a difference to the business. We are getting digital subscribers, selling web ads and social media sponsored posts.The DNA came along at just the right time for our business. ““Aside from the unique training, The Digital News Academy has built me a network of industry experts, journalists, editors and newsroom contacts from across Australia. For a small rural paper like ours, this is an invaluable resource, not even imaginable without being a DNA alumni.”
Krista Schade, Managing Director - Riverine Grazier
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.
Campbell Reid
News Corp AustraliaSydney, Australia
Sonja Heydeman
Academy Director, Digital News AcademyMelbourne, Australia
Rod Savage
News Corp AustraliaAdelaide, Australia
Jason van Genderen
11elevenSydney, Australia
Miguel D’Souza
Sydney, Australia
Stephanie Hunt
News Corp AustraliaSydney, Australia
Julia Munslow
The Wall Street JournalNew York, USA
Dougal Shaw
Business LeaderLondon, UK
Dan Petrie
Brisbane, Australia
MaryJo Webster
Star TribuneMinneapolis, USA
Yusuf Omar
SeenGold Coast, Australia
Eoghan Sweeney
Digital media consultantBerlin, Germany
Mike Castellucci
Michigan State University/WKAR (PBS)Dallas and Michigan, USA
Tom Calver
The Times and The Sunday Times London, UK
Helena Bengtsson
Gota MediaStockholm, Sweden
Rhona Tarrant
Executive Editor, CBS News ConfirmedNew York, US
Uma Patel
Google News LabSydney, Australia
Peter Judd
News Corp AustraliaMelbourne, Australia
Lena K Samuelsson
Stockholm, Sweden
Laura Jayes
Sky News AustraliaSydney, Australia
Jessica Espinasse
News Corp AustraliaSydney, Australia
David McCandless
Information is BeautifulLondon, UK
Jonty Burton
News Corp AustraliaMelbourne, Australia
Simon Kuestenmacher
The Demographics GroupMelbourne, Australia
Tom Connell
Sky News AustraliaCanberra, Australia
Kate McDonald
RTESydney, Australia
Tom Winch
News Corp AustraliaMelbourne, Australia
Soraiya Fuda
News Corp AustraliaSydney, Australia
Eleni Paneras
News Corp AustraliaSydney, Australia
A powerful curriculum
The Academy shows learners how cutting-edge technologies can be used to enhance their practice.
Ranging from multimedia, short-form 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).