Convergence and Divergence in Journalism Education

transcript

Donica Mensing Associate Professor/Academic Chair Reynolds School of Journalism University of Nevada, Reno @donica

Shaping the Future of News Media The International Conference on Integrated Journalism Education, Research and Innovation Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, June 17-19, 2015

PROVOKE QUESTIONS SPARK IDEAS ENCOURAGE

COLLABORATION CASE STUDY: FERGUSON

REFLECTIONS ON JOURNALISM AND

JOURNALISM EDUCATION

TODAY’S PRESENTATION

#FERGUSON FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT THE STATE OF US JOURNALISM TODAY?

WHAT MAKES THE NEWS AGENDA?

“about 1,100 deaths a year, or three a day”

Federal experts have long acknowledged that [the FBI] estimate is too low, and a handful of more recent, unofficial reports — online databases compiled and fact-checked by volunteers — place the toll much higher, at about 1,100 deaths a year, or three a day. Yet they do not suggest that the pace of police killings or the racial composition of victims as a group has changed significantly in the last two years or so.

HOW IS THE NEWS COVERED?

CONVERGENCE

CONVERGENCE OF JOURNALISTIC ACTORS: CITIZENS AND JOURNALISTS REPORTING AND PUBLISHING THE SAME EVENT

CONVERGENCE IN THE USE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

CONVERGENCE OF GLOBAL ATTENTION BY INTERNATIONAL NEWS MEDIA

CONVERGENCE OF MEDIA POWER TO DOMINATE PUBLIC ATTENTION OVER TIME

USE OF CONVERGED MEDIA: TEXT, AUDIO, VIDEO, PHOTOS, GRAPHICS BY NEWS OUTLETS

DIVERGENCE

DIVERGENT PUBLICS, NOW WITH VOICES

DIVERGENT JOURNALISMS, IN PURPOSE AND MISSION

DIVERGENCE IN TRUST AND DISTRUST OF INSTITUTIONS, INC. JOURNALISM

DIVERGENCE IN THE FORMS OF A STORY: LIVE STREAMS, TWEETS, POSTS, DOCUMENTARIES, MAPS, DATA, MEMORIES, CONVENTIONAL NEWS

DIVERGENCE IN USE OF PLATFORMS: TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, TUMBLR, USTREAM, WEB, PRINT, TV and DIVERGENCE IN USE OF DEVICES: DESKTOP, TABLET, SMARTPHONE

Journalism Education

CONVERGENCE

The challenges we face as journalism educators (Deuze, 2006)

RESPOND TO CONVERGENCE OF JOURNALISTIC ACTORS

TEACH JOURNALISM AS A HUMAN RIGHT AS

WELL AS A PROFESSION

PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

DEVELOP EXERCISES

IN LISTENING, EMPATHY

DEVELOP COMPETENCIES IN COMMUNITY DYNAMICS

RECOGNIZE DIVERSITY AND AUTONOMY OF PUBLICS

EXPERIMENT WITH HOW TO ENGAGE

PUBLICS/AUDIENCES

PRACTICE USER DESIGN

THINKING METHODS

INTERROGATE ADAPTION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNIQUES

PURPOSEFULLY CREATE ASSIGNMENTS TO SERVE DIFFERENT PUBLICS

CONVERGENT USE OF DIVERGENT PLATFORMS

TEACH BASIC LITERACY OF

CURRENT PLATFORMS

REQUIRE STUDENTS TO BECOME EXPERTS IN AT LEAST ONE

WE NEED TO BE “PLATFORM DEVOUT”, NOT JUST PLATFORM AGNOSTIC,

SAYS VIVIAN SCHILLER

EXPAND THE EXPECTATIONS OF A “STORY”

WHAT BASIC UNIT OF

JOURNALISM MIGHT WE

TEACH FIRST?

ENCOURAGE FACULTY TO BECOME EXPERTS IN AT LEAST ONE NEW FORM

CREATE METHODS TO DEVELOP, DESCRIBE, ANALYZE, AND EVALUATE NEW FORMS

CATEGORIZE NEW FORMS: NARRATIVE, DATA AND SOCIAL, FOR EXAMPLE

DIVERGENCE

“The theory-practice division is the most pervasive issue regarding the content of journalism education.” (Nordenstreng, European Journalism Education)

We will never choose theory without practice, or practice without theory. Our contribution as academics and educators is to figure out how to merge theory and practice effectively.

HOW MIGHT WE DO THIS?

APPLY EXPERIMENT COLLABORATE

Incorporate research generated in

journalism studies and related fields and apply it to classroom

Develop support for experimentation in the classroom: train

for it, reward it, evaluate it.

Publish your assignments and

experiments. Set up collaborations; share

freely with colleagues. Set up learning communities.

HOW MIGHT WE DO THIS?

INVEST IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Encourage every faculty member to embody

practice and theory in their work with students and in their scholarship. Support

these efforts through professional development, rewards and mentoring.

CHANGE AHEAD

CONTACT EMAIL: dmensing@unr.edu

TWITTER: @donica

TWEET YOUR EXAMPLES: #NewsMediaBCN

TIME FOR QUESTIONS