"1. The survey indicated no significant differences between what journalists and managers considered important skills. Respondents from both groups indicated that formal journalism training was not adequate to the demands of the contemporary, digitized workplace. Training in digital skills can therefore be considered a priority area.
2. Further findings however indicated a continued strong emphasis on core journalistic skills such as the ability to exercise journalistic editorial judgement, contextualise stories in ways that make sense to audiences within their contexts and practicing ethical journalism . This finding suggests that future training should not focus exclusively on practical, digital skills but also provide opportunities for journalists to deepen their core skills. This was to a large extent supported by data from the focus groups, where media managers and consumers suggested a combination of new multimedia practical skills with more established journalistic values, especially given the rise of misinformation, which gives journalists the opportunity to set themselves apart from unverified content on the internet.
3. Responses did not suggest a strong need for specialized training in ‘beat’ journalism such as financial journalism. This could be explained by the fact that media convergence across platforms continues apace and the need for general digital skills was seen as more pressing, or that media institutions are under severe financial pressure with dwindling resources, which does not allow for a significant investment in highly specialized reporters.
4. There is a strong need to find alternative sources of revenue for an industry under pressure. The respondents suggested that such sources may take the form of outsourcing certain skills to media consumers, collaborating with consumers or pooling journalistic resources. There might therefore be an increasing need for training that could equip journalists with entrepreneurial, marketing and branding skills.
5. Managerial skills is an important aspect to consider for upskilling journalists entering management. A mentoring scheme could be considered to fulfil this need.
6. Given time and cost considerations, there is scope for experimenting with training formats that do not require full-time attendance, so that journalists can balance training with their work obligations. This could take the form of evening classes, online classes or weekend sessions.
7. Internships for media students could provide practical, on-the-job training at relatively low cost and would fill the need identified by media and journalism students to complement their theoretical curriculum with more practical skills training." (Recommendations)