Thomson Reuters Foundation Dual-track: 'S' in ESG, Reporting on Corporate Social Impact 2022

Thomson Reuters Foundation’s ‘S’ in ESG: Reporting on Corporate Social Impact offers an excellent opportunity for financial, business and/or investigative journalists in South Africa to gather virtually for training, knowledge sharing, expert sessions and network building.

The Programme will be delivered by world-class trainers and experts and uses Thomson Reuters Foundation’s unique ‘dual track’ approach, which trains journalists and CSO representatives in parallel, and provides opportunities for networking and collaborative story development. This approach strengthens trust between journalists and NGOs/CSOs.

The training will have a unique focus on the use of various sources of financial and non-financial data as a means of assessing corporate social performance, the ‘S’ in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). As ESG investment increases worldwide, there remains no standardized model of social impact assessment, leading to discrepancies between corporate practice and disclosure. Effective data analysis can help journalists uncover these inconsistencies, ensuring that they and their newsrooms are reporting accurately on these matters. This, in turn, will support efforts to both increase and improve corporate disclosure and transparency on social issues, expanding the data pool available. 

Journalists participating in the Programme will acquire relevant knowledge, trade tips and insights based on their own experiences, apply new digital skills, and access influential policymakers and officials for exclusive information and story ideas to cover the socio-political implications of companies reporting on their social performance.

At the end of the Programme, journalists will be able to:

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of the key issues regarding corporate social performance in South Africa.
• Analyse the media’s role in reporting on social investment issues in the region.
• Apply foundational data skills to analyse government, NGO and CSO data on social investments.
• Adopt tools and techniques to analyse relevant data on social performance of companies/sectors.
• Identify ‘S’ in ESG themes and story ideas to pitch for a personal or group story project.
• Investigate company/sector discrepancies between disclosure and actual performance on social issues.
• Better protect your reporting and sources in a digital world.

NOTE: The Programme contents may be modified to best respond to the learning needs of the participants.

About Thomson Reuters Foundation

They are the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information services company. We work to advance media freedom, raise awareness of human rights issues, and foster more inclusive economies. Through news, media development, free legal assistance and convening initiatives, we combine our unique services to drive systemic change. Their work is supported by an annual donation from Thomson Reuters and via grants specifically dedicated to supporting their core services, as well as by the generosity of our external donors and sponsors... read more... read more

Dual-track: 'S' in ESG, Reporting on Corporate Social Impact

Aim and Benefits of Dual-track: 'S' in ESG, Reporting on Corporate Social Impact

Story grant: Journalists will work on a story project and receive feedback from TRF facilitators. After the course they can apply for a two-month Programme that includes one-on-one mentoring and a £300 grant to produce and publish their stories.

Certification & TRF Alumni Engagement: Participants who engage in at least 80% of the sessions will receive a certificate from Thomson Reuters Foundation and will benefit from future alumni engagement, including exclusive invitations for events, access to more training and story funding.

Requirements for Dual-track: 'S' in ESG, Reporting on Corporate Social Impact Qualification

• Data, business, financial and investigative journalists with experience or strong interest in business and human rights, financial journalism, and/or business’ social performance.
• Applicants must be based in South Africa.
• Applicants must be full-time journalists or regular contributors for media organisations with a minimum of three years’ professional experience.
• Applicants must have a high proficiency level of spoken and written English.
• Applicants must have access to a minimum internet speed of 8 MB/second. You can check the speed of your device by logging onto www.speedtest.net.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details, visit Thomson Reuters Foundation website.