NPR has a new foundation grant to help expand the use of digital and social media in public radio.
It said $1.5 million from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will be used to expand training initiatives to increase the use of digital tools in public radio newsrooms.
This brings the total given to NPR by the foundation to $5.4 million in 19 years.
Funds are included for training at 70 or so radio stations. The training will be headed by Kinsey Wilson, senior vice president and general manager of digital media.
“Topics include strategies to build multimedia news operations, writing for the Web, photography and the role of social media in newsgathering. … The grant will also fund digital coaches for NPR journalists.”
An earlier grant trained NPR journalists in digital platforms and reporting techniques. NPR cited a subsequent review finding that the program produced “a positive shift in individual and institutional attitudes toward digital news.”