2003 - 04 Annual Report - Sbs

55Program. All SBS employees are attending training in theprevention of harassment and discrimination.SBS employees were supported in attending externaltraining, including courses under the SBS StudyAssistance program. SBS is a member of the AFCsponsoredWomen in Television network which conductednetworking activities for women in the television industry.The induction courses covered core competencies suchas interviewing, journalism, news and current affairsreporting, news writing and editing, voice presentation,media law, ethics and standards, talkback skills andoutside broadcasting. Technical training included studioself-operation, talkback, uploading to the SBS website,digital sound editing, desktop computer orientation andoutside broadcasting training.TelevisionThis year, in line with Television’s ongoing traineeshipprogram, three young people were chosen from over300 applicants to undertake the one-year journalismtrainee course.At the beginning of the course, all three cadets underwentsix weeks’ intensive training in journalism, includingethics, media law, shorthand, interviewing, researchingand writing. The cadets continue to receive on-the-jobtraining from senior staff for the balance of the year.The trainees, who are based in the Sydney newsroom,also spend time in the Canberra and Melbourne bureaus,and are assigned on rotation to the current affairsprograms, Dateline and Insight, as well as the WorldNews Online.In-house training for newsroom staff includes regular legalworkshops (see below). There is also ongoing cameratraining for video journalists. Staff who may be assignedto international trouble spots undertake training in riskawareness and safety.TV Operations provided training for on-air coordinators,electronic news gathering (ENG) and editing staff andvideotape operators. It also provided training for Televisionstaff on the implementation of widescreen programming.RadioSBS Radio Training is responsible for training new staffin the editorial and technical aspects of broadcastingand updating and maintaining the technical skills ofexisting staff.In both Sydney and Melbourne, lunchtime talks by expertsin a variety of fields were well attended by staff. Trainingfor young broadcasters also occurred.Radio Trainers conducted media skills workshops andcross-cultural seminars for many fee-paying clientsincluding the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink, thefinancial ratings agency Standard and Poor’s, MelbourneCity Mission and Monash University’s GraduateCommunications Program.SBS Radio Training engaged in industry consultationwith the Vocational Education Training Advisory Board(VETAB), Create Australia, the Vocational Education andAssessment Centre, NSW Department of Educationand Training, the Community Broadcasting Associationof Australia (CBAA), ABC Radio, the National Ethnicand Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council (NEMBC), theAustralian Ethnic Radio Training Project (AERTP) and4AAA Community Radio in Queensland.Technology and DistributionThe Technology and Distribution Division maintainsan internship program for final year tertiary students.By arrangement with participating universities,undergraduates in electrical engineering, computingscience, communications and related disciplines spendup to two years working part-time at SBS, gainingprofessional experience relevant to their coursework.There were five interns in the Technology and Distributionprogram this year.