Journalists from regional rivals News Corp and ACM will hone their digital skills under a new partnership with Google.

The search giant’s Australian head of news partnerships, Nic Hopkins says that from next year, the Digital News Academy – a three-year programme developed by Google and News – will provide digital skills training for 750 local and regional news professionals from a range of outlets including Australian Community Media.

It will also fund 60 new 12-month journalism traineeships in regional Australia over the same period. 

Tuition will include digital journalism, video and audio production, data journalism, audience measurement, reader revenue, digital business models and marketing. 

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller says the academy will provide “essential skills at a crucial time”.

“The future of commercial news organisations rests on their ability to create and publish journalism that serves audiences in tangible, valuable ways and is consumed how and where those audiences choose,” he said, thanking Google for their contribution and “further acknowledgment” of journalism’s value and importance.

Australian Community Media will be a major participant, receiving both training and trainees. Chief executive Tony Kendall mentioned the recent appointment of Crinkling News founder Saffron Howden (pictured) as editorial training manager, adding that “with her experience, and the global expertise brought together in this programme, this bi-partisan initiative will be fantastic for ACM editorial staff and the strength of regional journalism more broadly.”