Journalism Education Grapples With the Internet

It's puzzling that enrollment in many journalism programs, including Columbia's J-School, is increasing even as so many newspapers are dying.

I'm sure that much of this has to do with the Internet and the fact that many students are already blogging and creating their own videos and photos and so journalism seems a natural step for them.

I'm afraid my students choose journalism because they think they are being practical, as in, "I really want to be an actor," "I really want to be a filmmaker," "I really want to be a novelist,"...."but journalism is my backup." I quickly try to inject a little reality into that equation.

As Elizabeth Zwerling points out on OJR, journalism programs are responding to the demand by offering more online courses. Some are ending the distinction between traditional print media and online media as if they are two utterly forein concepts to each other. The University of Wisconsin at Madison's journalism school offers a "boot camp" for journalists of six core courses under the umbrella of "Mass Communication Practices." Advanced students choose either reporting or strategic communications (I'm not sure what that is exactly but never mind).

At Rugers, students can take a course on web design, exploring new media or a new course on multimedia reporting. Like many schools, Rutgers is examining how to instill "media intelligence" in its students.

All this is headed in the right direction but I think the universities that take a wholistic approach that includes multimedia and print have the right idea. This helps put to rest the debate over whether students need to learn basic reporting and writing skills (yes), get a good basic understanding of media, ethics and law (yes) or learn technological skills (yes).

Of course, all this means that all we old school journalists and journalism professors have to become new school. As Regina McCombs, an multimedia instructor at the Poynter Institute told Zwerling, "They have to learn new things. When you first are trying a new thing you say, 'I suck at this...You have to go through sucking at it."

She got that right. Zwerling goes on to say that she's promised her students she'll go on Facebook this summer. Um, OK. My students spent several minutes discussing how terrible itis that their parents have taken over Facebook, so I don't think they would be thrilled to know that I'm on Facebook. But I agree with her premise. We have to take the bull by the horns and start social networking. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make some new "friends."