Media Training Program on Corporate Governance Reporting

“The workshop has taught me that CG is wider than I thought. It is about the way people act: using leadership, dilligence, acting transparently and efficiently, among others qualities, to build better companies”, said Cristina Sevillano del Aguila, workshop participant from Stakeholders Magazine (Peru), after she went through the first day of the Media Training workshop.

Overview:

The Global Corporate Governance Forum launched its Media Training Program in 2007 to build up journalists’ capacity on corporate governance reporting. Based on the Forum’s mandate: better companies, better societies, the goals of the Training are:

1. To raise public awareness of corporate governance via mass media;
2. To improve journalists’ investigative skills on corporate governance issues and to encourage them become whistle blowers to promote corporate governance best practices in emerging markets.

Partnerships with Thomson Reuters and AFP:

The Program has been in partnership with Thomson Reuters since 2007. Starting April 2009, AFP will also join the program as one of the partners. Both agencies have been helping to tailor the program from journalism’s point of view, and bringing in experienced international and local trainers in each workshop.

Training Content:
The Training Program agendas have four main aspects to help journalists understand the concepts and elements of corporate governance and to improve their journalism skills.

1. Approach to editors: Senior journalists talk about how they approach their editors to publish the story, and what kind of strategy can be used to have better relationships with editors;
2. Investigative skills: Well known national journalists share their experiences in investigating cg issues, what kind of resources they look into, and whom they have the interview with;
3. Reading annual reports: Experts from well known accounting firms teach participants how to interpret financial and non-financial company reporting;
4. Dimensional perspectives: Speakers from national or international investment organizations share their perspectives and insights on importance of corporate governance in the decision making process of an investment.

Program Rollout:

Workshops: The first workshop of this program was launched in 2007 in Belgrade. Since then, similar workshops have been held in South Asia, MENA, South and East Africa, Central Asia, Latin America region and East Asia. In total, the program has trained over 140 journalists worldwide. More regional and national workshops will be scheduled in collaboration with the Forum’s local partners and IFC field offices.

Workshop locations:

1. Belgrade workshop, October 2007.
2. Cairo workshop, April 2008.
3. Mumbai workshop, July 2008.
4. Almaty workshop, October 2008.
5. Zambia workshop, March 2009.
6. Mumbai and Delhi workshop, July 2009.
7. Latin America Region workshop, January 2010
8. Brazil workshop, January 2010
9, Vietnam workshop, March 2010
10. MENA region workshop, May 2010


Global journalists’ network: The Forum also started a Global Journalists Network on Facebook called “Reporting on Corporate Governance” in early 2009. It aimed to create a communications vehicle for those interested in corporate governance reporting, and as a platform for updates on the status of the training program. Participants are encouraged to “meet” their peers across the world and connect with corporate governance experts, including those participating at our training programs as well as the broader community comprising the Forum’s Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG). The Facebook page is also a channel for participants to provide comment and suggestions for the Forum’s Corporate Governance Media Toolkit, which is scheduled to be completed next year.

Please see Facebook guidance to open an account and join our Facebook group.


Media Toolkit Production:

The Forum is going to produce a media toolkit on corporate governance reporting drawing on the experiences it gained through the workshops. The toolkit will not only cover corporate governance topics such as shareholder engagement and pension funds, but also case studies from different regions on investigative journalism and corporate governance.

The Toolkit draft is planned to be released through the Global Journalists Network in June, 2010 for comments.


For more details, please contact Gene Spiro at Espiro@ifc.org


Media Training Program News Letter:
1. Media Training Program News Letter, Oct 2009