Key Documents: Section III. Journalism Education: Preparation for Change - Introduction

Introduction

The field of journalism is undergoing a prolonged transformation akin to what might happen to a city in the throes of gentrification. New avenues and areas of media are under construction, while older sections slowly crumble and fear demolition. The mission for journalism education first involves envisioning the map and ambiance of the terrain to come. Then it must decide how to best acclimate existing inhabitants to that environment before recruiting the next generation of residents.

Journalism educators, by necessity, have become part of the effort to assess emerging trends in the media industry. In studies, like the one sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania (see the category Journalism White Papers on Changes in Education and Media), they join with others in the field to pinpoint daunting problems on the horizon and inherent failures that persist from the past. The members of the study also outline steps that should be taken to remedy these situations. Many of the solutions imply adjustments to the way journalism should be taught and the mindset new journalists must bring to their careers.

Another study in this section picks up where the Annenberg group leaves off. Improving the Education of Tomorrow's Journalists, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, asks leaders in the industry to identify specifically what journalism schools should teach and how curriculum has to be amended. Despite all the changes to the profession, they place the highest priorities on traditional reporting and writing skills, and on the ethics of journalism.

A 1904 article by Joseph Pulitzer reinforces the notion that old journalism education priorities can still be relevant in the years to come. In “The College of Journalism,” he defends the efficacy of graduate journalism education at a time before it existed. Ironically, some of the subjects he proposes journalism schools embrace—statistics, economics, journalism law—show up as cornerstones of newly revised curriculums around the country (see the category Schools of Journalism: Values and Curriculum). He also makes a strong case for the principles that underlie the current push for internships on all levels.

Of course, rapidly evolving technology has drastically changed both news reporting and delivery methods. This, in turn, has prompted even the most venerable journalism programs to tweak or revamp their curriculum on the fly. For these established schools, it becomes a balancing act between preserving the older elements of journalism that helped establish their reputations and the new wave innovations necessary to keep their graduates in the mix. In the meantime, a rash of completely new journalism programs have launched with concepts like conversion and beat specialization at the core of their curriculum. However, for all of journalism education, the real goal now is to help reinvent and energize all media and reporting. It is no longer enough to just try to keep up.

—Glenn Lewis Volume Editor