The Order of Journalists enjoys specific powers in the field of training, as defined by law 69/1963. It is possible to distinguish between training aimed at accessing the profession on one side, through journalism schools, and the provision of ongoing training on the other. There are currently twelve schools of journalism recognised by the Order (see Table 7). The continuing professional training of journalists is an obligation provided for by law 148/2011, for all those enrolled in the register as professionisti and pubblicisti [professionals and publicists].
Few of the leading media outlets provide internal training opportunities, separate from those of the Order of Journalists. As the editor-in-chief of Tg1 states, public radio and television seem to be the most sensitive to the question of training, both in terms of the existence of a dedicated structure and of its perceived importance:
There is a structure, RAI Academy, and then there is the Study Centre […] but it is still too little: we could do a lot, also in collaboration with universities, to be able to strengthen a model that is unfortunately still very focused on know-how rather than on knowledge […] There is still not enough investment in professional training. Continuous seminar cycles would be necessary.
The private news sector, instead, tends to conceive training as a form of professional updating on more technical issues. In this regard, the editor-in-chief of SkyTg24 declares:
[Training] takes place not on a journalistic level but on a company level […] certainly on privacy, on data management, on forms of hacking or computer piracy there are courses […] which in my opinion should be more frequent and better organised. I understand that in a medium-large company it is complex, but there is a need for it.
Few degrees in communication and journalism across the country include courses focused on gender, diversity, and inequality issues, or adopt a gender and intersectional lens in the training of communication professionals (see Indicator F8 – Rules and practices on internal gender equality). The same goes for schools that are recognised by the Order. Where such courses exist, they are not part of the core curriculum, they are mostly optional, and sustainability of the teaching offer depends on teachers’ and trainers’ personal interest. Interesting developments have characterised the trainings offered by the Order in response to law 148/2011. Courses on diversity and gender inequality issues have multiplied, as reported by members of the Equality Committee of FNSI and Order of Journalists, and the FNSI Equality Commission is debating how to propose the Manifesto di Venezia [Venice Manifesto] in the recognised schools. At the same time, no specific training, aimed, for instance, at supporting women’s access to managerial and leadership positions, seems to be organised by media outlets.
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