Journalism Education Research Articles

The Sociotechnical Dynamics of Virtual Work-Integrated Learning in Journalism Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT This study explores how sociotechnical factors in a virtual work-integrated learning (WIL) environment influenced the development of practical journalism skills and professional socialisation of journalism students at a selected South African university during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a university of technology as a case study, the data for this study were collected using focus group discussions with final-year journalism students and semi-structured in-depth interviews with their employers. The study finds that the COVID-19 pandemic forced WIL into a virtual format, which participants felt impacted their ability to develop essential journalism skills, including production, practical, and technological skills. The virtual nature of WIL also affected their professional socialisation, particularly in terms of interacting with colleagues and news sources and developing career management skills. As the demand for graduates with practical skills and professional socialisation increases, the importance of WIL also rises. The pandemic's impact on journalism provides an opportunity to rethink WIL's role and purpose within the curriculum, using the reflections of students and employers in this study.

Assessment of Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) 2015 guideline adherence in medical imaging diagnostic accuracy studies published in 2023.

The Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) 2015 guideline facilitates evaluation of key aspects of diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) studies and their findings, including the risk of bias and applicability of findings. To evaluate the completeness of reporting in medical imaging DTA research in a sample of studies published in 2023. A systematic search of Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library was performed to identify medical imaging DTA studies published between January - June 2023 that assessed one or more index imaging tests compared to a reference standard and reported test performance using relevant outcome measures. Completeness of reporting amongst the included studies was assessed using the 30-item STARD-2015 guideline. Multiple linear regression was subsequently performed to identify study characteristics associated with more complete reporting. A total of 116 studies were included in our analysis with a median journal impact factor of 2.7 (range 0.9-19.7). The mean number of items reported was 17.5/30 (58%, SD 2.2). Items that were infrequently reported (reported in less than 33% of included studies) included items 9 ('whether participants formed a consecutive, random or convenience series'), 13.2 ('whether clinical information and index test results were available to the assessors of the reference standard'), 15 ('how indeterminate index test or reference standard results were handled'), 16 ('how missing data on the index test and reference standard were handled'), 22.1 ('time interval between the index test and the reference standard'), 22.2 ('clinical interventions between the index test and the reference standard') and 29 ('where the full study protocol can be accessed'). Adherence was significantly higher in journals with a higher than median journal impact factor (18.1/30 vs 16.8/30 items reported; p < 0.001). The completeness of reporting in medical imaging DTA research is moderate and remains relatively static in absolute terms compared to a previous evaluation of studies published in 2016 performed by Hong and colleagues, acknowledging differences in sample study characteristics limit direct comparison. Potential strategies to support more complete reporting in medical imaging DTA research include mandating adherence to the STARD guideline in journal instructions to authors, requiring completed STARD checklists to be submitted alongside all DTA study manuscripts, and integrating quality of reporting assessment as a routine component of the peer review process.

In feature story reporting, curiosity is a personality trait, a motivation, and a skill

Journalism instruction has long assumed curiosity is integral to the work, but there has not been a systematic study that engages psychological or sociological curiosity theory in the journalistic process. Instead, it’s assumed that curiosity means the same thing to all people, that all journalists engage curiosity in similar ways. Journalism instruction and practice therefore suffers from a shallow understanding of how curiosity affects the stories produced. Drawing on 18 semi-structured interviews with U.S. feature journalists and editors, I found feature journalists use their sense of curiosity to explore possible story ideas on multiple levels. Through a qualitative analysis of these interviews, three themes emerged: curiosity as a personality trait, curiosity as a motivational force, and curiosity as a skill. The journalists self-identified as curious people and knew they used curiosity to find stories. However, the way they conceptualized curiosity, how and when they explored it, and with how much intensity differed per person and per story. Still, a throughline remained. Feature story reporting demands a specific kind of curiosity: a tool that can be articulated, practiced, and taught.

Does Gender Influence Media Engagement? Attitudes and Experiences of Australian Media Sources

ABSTRACT The news media’s reliance on official sources for interviews tends to privilege male voices and perspectives. To date, most of the research in this area has focused on news content analysis which consistently finds that women voices are marginalized, comprising only around 30 per cent of people quoted, heard, and seen in the news. In this study, we extend this work to examine whether potential gender differences in sources’ attitudes toward, and experiences of, media engagement can explain the over-representation of male sources. We outline the key findings from an online survey of Australian subject experts and spokespeople (N = 220). The findings are encouraging, both for journalists and sources. Significantly, men and women perceived the interview experience as generally positive and there was no evidence that women are less willing than men to agree to interview requests. However, there were gendered factors that could deter prospective sources, including fear of being misquoted, mistrust of journalists and concerns about harassment and negative evaluations of appearance. These findings provide valuable insights for journalists and journalism educators about how to improve interviewing practices and develop strategies to increase the diversity of voices in news coverage.

The Evolution of NCI's Health Information National Trends Survey: Methods, Data, and Future Directions.

The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Health Information National Trends Survey® (HINTS®), was conceived in 1997 during a multidisciplinary conference focused on risk communication that included attendees representing the fields of psychology, health behavior, health education, public health, clinical medicine, and health journalism. The key recommendation from the conference was for NCI to develop a premiere communication-specific population survey to track health and cancer communication-related phenomena. This led to NCI developing and launching HINTS in 2003. HINTS is a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of the U.S. noninstitutionalized adult population (18 and older) that collects data on the public's need for, access to, and use of health- and cancer-related related information and health- and cancer-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. As of 2024, HINTS had been administered 17 times over a 21-year period. The resulting datasets can be utilized for secondary analysis to examine a range of social and behavioral research questions in cancer control and population sciences. The datasets can be examined individually or merged to test for trends over time or to create larger samples for analysis. The evolution of the program has included testing and changing instrument administration modes, oversampling specific populations, and assessing priority constructs, as well as conducting methodological experiments to keep pace with emerging trends in survey research. HINTS has also expanded beyond its cross-sectional format to include data linkages and a longitudinal panel, enabling researchers to address a wider range of research questions. HINTS methods, data products, and impact are discussed.

Mind the gap: re-thinking digital skills in journalism education in Germany

ABSTRACT This study explores the intersection of technological advancements in the media industry and the realities of journalism education, aiming to align discussions on digital transformation in journalism with educational practices. An online survey of 228 young journalists from Germany was conducted to assess their editorial tasks, perceptions of technological change, and digital skills acquired during their journalism studies in the higher education sector. The findings indicate that content creation and writing are considered highly important by the majority of young professionals, with significant emphasis placed on integrating social media into their work. There is a broad acknowledgment of growing technical requirements, including mobile journalism, data journalism, and new content channels like blogs, newsletters, or podcasts, which reflects a shift towards a multi-skilled profile for journalists. However, the study also highlights that many journalists reporting insufficient exposure to critical digital skills such as search engine optimization, user metrics, data journalism, and coding. This indicates a need for journalism education programs in Germany to better address these emerging trends and prepare students for the demands of the digital media landscape.

From Challenge-Based Learning to Relational Coordination: An Interdisciplinary Educational-Research Collaboration in Medical Journalism Education

Interdisciplinary collaboration (IDC) faces several long-standing challenges including poor teamwork, resistance to socialization, inadequate attention given to learners' abilities, incomplete reporting, lack of quality methodology, and vague understanding of reflexivity. In an attempt to tackle these challenges, the purpose of this case study was to report an interdisciplinary educational-research collaboration (IDERC) involving two faculty members (NS and SA) from different departments who were simultaneously instructing a master’s student (St) in two separate courses. The methodology involved addressed the learning needs of St in two concurrent courses as well as fulfilling particular research activities. A few different reflection-gathering tools were adopted to elicit the two participants’ (SA and St) views on the impacts of the IDERC. Thematic analysis of SA’s interview concerning her experiences with the IDERC indicated that she was motivated by a range of personal, educational, and research factors. It also showed her positive outlook on how a similar IDERC could benefit faculty members and students as well as knowledge development. SA also went through the reasons why educators may be hesitant or resistant to deal with IDC. When probing St’s experiences with the IDERC incorporated inside his class tasks and an open-ended questionnaire, he not only highlighted the educational and research outcomes he gained, but also mentioned how he was influenced by the instructors' socialization behavior. Regarding the requirements of an IDC, St's main focus was on successful implementation and prioritizing efficiency. Suggestions are provided as to how this collaboration can be extended to larger contexts.

Bridging the Knowledge Divide: Journalism Education and Industry Needs in East and Southern Africa

This study explores the perceived gap between journalism education and professional practice in Tanzania and Zambia. Through interviews with educators and journalists and an analysis of 12 journalism curricula, the findings reveal that both educators and journalists acknowledged a gap, with a shared desire for improved alignment between academic programs and industry needs. Educators expressed a commitment to incorporating contemporary content, but face challenges like limited industry collaboration and resource constraints. Journalists, however, observed a hesitancy among educators in implementing recommendations from the industry. Both groups see the need for integrating theory and practice into the curricula.

Unraveling the Tapestry of Journalistic Writing Proficiency of Chinese Student

This research examines the journalistic writing competence of Chinese students in journalism programs highlighting correctness, clarity, conciseness, objectivity, ethical concerns, and fact-checking. It also investigates the socio-cultural, educational, and linguistic elements affective student’s writing abilities and how they forecast writing ability. Data were collected using a mixed-methods approach, comprising student tests and interviews with journalism educators, to ascertain the principal hurdles students have in cultivating writing proficiency. Based on the examination of the student tests and interviews, it was discovered that students recognize deficiencies in correctness, obtaining external validation for neutrality and ethics, and achieving acknowledgment for fact-checking endeavors. Socio-cultural factors such as self-censorship and political sensitivities have the most significant impact on their writing proficiency. The study suggested there is a need for enforcing students’ language skills and exposure to authentic journalism techniques, self-censorship, a test-centric educational framework, and addressing the obstacles in conforming to international media norms.

Teaching Entrepreneurial Journalism: A Comparative Assessment of Zimbabwe and the United States

ABSTRACT This study analysed the state of entrepreneurial journalism in two different contexts—Zimbabwe and the United States of America—to identify the differences, similarities and peculiarities between the two contexts—with a broader view to understand the nuances and complexities that impact entrepreneurial journalism in different contexts. Using two universities—one from each setting—as empirical objects, the qualitative study utilised the integrated curriculum research methodological approach to analyse the two journalism undergraduate curricula and six select course syllabi, as well as reflections of 19 faculty on entrepreneurial journalism. The findings reveal the major differences in the areas of student recruitment, lack of a multi-disciplinary approach to journalism education and lack of integration of entrepreneurism across journalism modules in Zimbabwe. Perspectives from 19 faculty reveal differences in key competencies required for entrepreneurial journalism—and divergences on how entrepreneurial journalism needs to be taught. The perspectives also highlight contextual nuances that impact entrepreneurial journalism. What the study concludes is that, rather than just learning from the US how entrepreneurial journalism ought to be taught, a thorough examination of society’s needs, and availability of systems and processes required to address these needs may be more important for the Zimbabwean context.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Spanish Journalism Education: A Curricular Analysis

Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data have impacted different professional sectors in our society. Communication and journalism are clearly among them. From the automatic generation of content to the identification of topics of interest or monitoring of users’ usage habits, AI introduces important training challenges for professionals in the field of communication. Meanwhile, big data analytics enables data journalists to handle large amounts of information in an automated manner, allowing them to perform in-depth analysis of disorganized data. This study analyzes the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data in the curricula of journalism degrees offered by Spanish universities. The research employs quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the typology, syllabus, and distribution of subjects directly or indirectly addressing AI and big data topics, based on indicators such as structure, credit system, objectives, competencies, and professional profiles. The results reveal a scarce integration of AI and Big Data subjects in journalism curricula in Spain. Among the analyzed courses, only seven addressed data journalism as a complete course, while 19 introduced AI and Big Data as part of more general content. The study highlights the need for journalism education to adapt to the disruptive impact of AI and big data on the profession. It discusses the debate between focusing on teaching technological skills versus providing critical and ethical values. The research aims to contribute to the discussion on the readiness of journalism curricula to cope with technological advancements by analyzing the Spanish case.

The Application and Training of News Interviewing Skills in Journalism Education

With the rapid development of the information age, the demand for professional interviewing skills in the news media industry continues to grow, making the training of interviewing skills in journalism education particularly important. This paper explores the application and training methods of news interviewing skills within journalism education. By analyzing the application of interviewing skills in classroom teaching and off-campus practices, it proposes specific methods for basic interviewing skills, advanced interviewing skills, and comprehensive quality enhancement training. The study finds that current journalism education faces issues such as the disconnection between theory and practice and a lack of diverse teaching content, and it offers corresponding improvement strategies. The aim is to provide a reference for journalism educators to enhance the interviewing skills and overall quality of journalism students, enabling them to adapt to the constantly changing media environment.

Collaborative Journalism Around the Globe: A Systematic Review

This systematic review examines a decade of collaborative journalism research globally, extracting 40 articles from ProQuest and Scopus databases. The study underscores collaborative journalism’s efficacy in addressing cross-border issues and engaging diverse audiences but note its underexplored status in Africa. Four dimensions emerged: social media and audience engagement, journalism education and technology, challenges and barriers, and collaboration models. Identified research gaps include media policy, violence against journalists and ethical implications. The review advocates grounded studies using appropriate theories and calls for more collaborative journalism research in Africa.

Educating for a Changing Media Landscape: Four Scenarios for Journalism Education in 2030

ABSTRACT Over the past decades, journalism schools and journalism training programmes have been trying to keep up with the constant technological and societal developments. Numerous studies have been done about what knowledge and skills should be taught and several on how they should be taught, to be more adaptive to this changing environment and media landscape. Meanwhile, also media companies are increasingly becoming educators, with their own learning academies to make journalists become lifelong learners. In this study, which was conducted in the Netherlands, we take a holistic approach to understanding the uncertain future journalism education is currently dealing with. We use the method of scenario planning to systematically analyse the current debate on journalism education. By collecting opinions and views of fifty different experts from the broad field of journalism and (journalism) education, we deducted certain and uncertain trends that led to two axes, answering the following questions: What type of journalism do we educate for and Who is in charge of the learning process? Crossing these axes, four scenarios for the future of journalism education appear. With this study, we intend to facilitate the debate on the future of journalism education.

Introduction. Our relationships with GenAI and the media: Testing the limits of transparency, trust and moral agency

We present the last part of this special issue on Use of Artificial Intelligence in Communication: Ethical Implications for Media. This editorial examines the role that humans should play in the responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the media. It provides an overview of transparency as an ethical obligation in relation to trust and truthfulness when using GenAI to create different kinds of content. Finally, it enters into the debate about the moral status of machines as we anticipate ethical questions in the study of ethics and GenAI in the media. Six articles complete this special issue with studies examining implications of GenAI for semiotics research, public relations, advertising, fact checking, information literacy and journalism education.

Comparison of Instructions to Authors and Reporting of Ethics Components in Selected African Biomedical Journals: 2008 and 2017.

Journal editors instruct authors to describe human participant protections in original research reports. However, little is known about African biomedical journal authors' adherence to such journal editors' instructions. This study investigated changes in editors' instructions to authors and authors' reporting of research ethics information in selected African biomedical journals between 2008 and 2017. Twelve selected journal websites and online articles were reviewed in Eastern, Southern, and Western African [ESWA] countries. A pre-tested schema and a checklist were used to collect data from journal websites and articles published in 2008 and 2017, and the data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Half of the journals requested prospective authors to disclose ethics approval and related issues in their manuscripts between 2008 and 2017. There was a significant increase in instructions to authors regarding information on the protection of research participants within this period; more authors complied with these requirements in 2017 than in 2007.

Balancing journalism education and community radio news: A ‘bittersweet’ paradox

The Community Broadcasting Codes of Practice (the Codes) play an important role in shaping what Australians listen to and how they engage with their local community radio station. In a sector defined by grassroots participation and a non-professional, volunteer workforce, the Codes aim to model best practice in terms of content, community participation and governance. Several sections apply specifically to news and current affairs (NCAF) coverage, yet there is no independent research that explores the sector’s alignment with the Codes in this area. Drawing on a content analysis of 572 community radio NCAF stories broadcast on nationally syndicated programmes, and interviews with journalists and news producers, this research sought to critically analyse NCAF coverage on community radio in light of the Codes of Practice. The results of the research suggest that NCAF coverage on community radio broadly aligns with the Codes of Practice, yet there are mixed interpretations of what can be considered ‘views not adequately represented’ elsewhere. Part of this uncertainty stems from the reliance on media students as volunteer journalists. This article interrogates this tension between the sector’s role as an informal ‘training ground’ for aspiring media workers and its remit to provide alternative NCAF coverage.

The roles and ethics of journalism: A comparative study of journalistic cultures in two student cohorts

This study uses journalistic instrumental-value surveys to compare how two cohorts of postgraduate journalism students, one of which completed undergraduate studies in Australia and the other in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), weigh the importance of journalistic ethics and roles. It finds that the students who previously studied in Australia consistently value the adversarial and interpretative functions of the press as more important, while the students who studied in China rate the mobilizer and disseminator function of journalists as more significant. While the differences surrounding perception of ethical issues are not pronounced, the students who had studied in China perceive greater difficulty resolving issues of taste and decency. Drawing on a schema used by Hanusch and Hanitzsch in 2019, the study analyses the results in respect of differing journalistic cultures and notes the implications for an Australian journalistic education system that increasingly services international students.

Japan’s Educational Journalism and Joseon Education in the First Half of 20th Century

Japan’s Educational Journalism and Joseon Education in the First Half of 20th Century

TRANSFORMING JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION EDUCATION:

The study focuses on Journalism and Communication education in developing countries that indicates a compromise and balance of traditional outlay and modern technology but resulted to a mismatch of ‘slow march to fast music’. Expansion of media is not commensurate with the population in both the countries studied. It has been observed that with thriving democracy, the growth of mass media is reflective with the growth of media education in Bangladesh, whereas the growth of media and the state of democracy both are in formative stage in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It was examined that media in Bangladesh have been contributing potentially to create pluralistic democratic values to a densely populated country. Newspapers and TV channels draw communication graduates from public and private universities. The study envisaged that Papua New Guinea, an independent country in 1975, and world’s most diversified nation with highest number of languages, 823 languages among 6.5 million people, craving for a working democracy with meager state of media in the country. On the other hand, alternative media education as conceptualized as ‘Civic Journalism’ got a trial in one of the public universities. It has been focused to rural areas and on the issues like human rights, good governance, gender, democracy, rule of law and justice, and environment.