Volume 10, Number 2, 2020
by Cathy Strong
Journalism education has never been so vital, nor so complex. On one hand educators face increasing digital skills to teach students; and on the other hand there is even more need to entrust new journalists with the basics of balance, fairness, accuracy.
The foundation of trusted journalism is challenging. The general public is confused over what to believe, and we need to ensure our students are giving it their best work.
It is discouraging to see all the social media posts starting with the words “the media will never publish good news like this…..” In almost every instance I’ve seen, the post is dead-wrong and ironically includes a photo from the local newspaper, or a link to a reputable news site. Journalists can be excused for screaming WHAT THE HECK. I have personally wasted hours of time responding to these posts with links of the original story from a legacy news media. When I trace back the originating anti-media post it is usually from a politically motivated person/bot. In other words, there is a concerted effort to confuse the public about trusting news media.
At a recent forum of journalism educators, we discovered that we are privileged with the type of students who elect to major in journalism. They already are well read and are aware of social media misinformation. They already want to help the vulnerable segments of our communities.
Journalists by nature have an eclectic interest and can cover a myriad of differing news stories. Many also are expected to produce their news story in several platforms on the same day, writing an item for the newspaper, uploading a podcast on the website, and posting a video on social media.
You see where I am going with this. If journalists need all these skills and knowledge, the journalism educators have to be a step ahead, and adept at all this too. Educators may be experimenting with reporting with TikTok, or interpreting large amounts of information in an easily digested visual medium. At the same time, they are supporting their students’ career paths with internships and appropriate textbooks.
On top of all the industry upheaval, 2020 forced educators to abruptly change teaching styles to accommodate students studying off campus … pastoral care has never been more important in our list of proficiencies.
Educators don’t get by-lines, nor much fame and fortune. They do, however, have the personal satisfaction that they have created the army of journalists who, in turn, are keeping democracy alive and important facts in front of the public.
Hopefully the students appreciate what their educators do for them.
