Journalism Programs Research Articles

Bridging theory and practice via education: Insights from the erasmus mundus journalism programme

The disconnect in how practitioners and scholars talk about what journalism is and does, and what it could be or do, is often striking. With more universities and other institutions worldwide offering journalism education, and the growing number of journalists turned scholars or instructors, there have been sporadic efforts to bridge the pervasive gap between theory and practice. In this paper, I discuss some of the challenges and opportunities of bridging said gap by drawing on the Erasmus Mundus Journalism Programme as a case study. I delve into some ways in which we deal with co-teaching across institutions to train an exceptionally diverse group of students with a global, collaborative, and interdisciplinary mindset. Finally, I claim that we tend to talk about the theory-practice gap in rather narrow terms and point towards ways to rethink the directionality of this relationship to further a truly reflective and critical journalism education.

(Life) Lessons beyond the Lecture Hall: Alumni Reflections on Their Work-Readiness after Completing a South African Postgraduate Journalism Degree

ABSTRACT Higher education institutions are increasingly faced with the challenge of producing graduates ready to enter the world of work—a continuously evolving world that can be unceremoniously upended by global events such as Covid-19. Journalism educators share in this dilemma—especially given the upheaval faced by the media industry. Through an exploratory pilot study, this paper aims to provide insight into what knowledge and skills graduates themselves value once they have entered the world of work. Focus groups were conducted with 38 alumni from a South African postgraduate journalism programme to explore their understanding of the ways in which their studies prepared them to adapt to the workplace. The findings indicate alumni are grateful to have been exposed to a variety of practice-orientated applications in which they could later choose to specialise. More importantly, however, alumni were vocal about the fact that they were taught—sometimes implicitly—skills that transcend disciplinary boundaries and that have stood them in good stead in a variety of careers. These skills include being comfortable networking with peers and colleagues; the ability to meet deadlines; knowledge about how to build contacts; an understanding of the need for lifelong learning; the ability to tell a story with any information at hand; time management skills; and related generic life skills such as resilience. The findings of this pilot study seem to suggest journalism educators should be cognisant that they are training students for the workplace, not just for newswork or mediawork, and that soft skills should be prioritised.

Fact check: Still not core journalism curriculum

Fact-checking has become a global industry, with more than 417 fact-checking outlets in 100 countries operating in 69 languages (Stencel, Ryan & Luther, 2023). According to the Duke Reporters’ Lab, half of the world’s fact checkers are associated with media outlets, but there are also 24 affiliated with academic institutions. Although the work is time consuming and resource intensive, fact-checking has increasingly been introduced to journalism programmes at universities and in professional settings. This expert article brings together some insights from a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Journalism Education Council (WJEC) roundtable event ‘Fact-Check and Verification as Core Journalism Curriculum’ hosted by RMIT University in Australia in 2021, alongside relevant literature exploring the nature and presence of fact-check based education approaches at that time. It concludes that while fact-checking and verification are important skills for student journalists, fact checkers do not necessarily need to be journalists, nor indeed have journalistic training. However, more students are needed who are excellent journalists and the authors argue that fact-checking is just part of that training.

Fact check: Still not core journalism curriculum

Fact-checking has become a global industry, with more than 417 fact-checking outlets in 100 countries operating in 69 languages (Stencel, Ryan & Luther, 2023). According to the Duke Reporters’ Lab, half of the world’s fact checkers are associated with media outlets, but there are also 24 affiliated with academic institutions. Although the work is time consuming and resource intensive, fact-checking has increasingly been introduced to journalism programmes at universities and in professional settings. This expert article brings together some insights from a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Journalism Education Council (WJEC) roundtable event ‘Fact-Check and Verification as Core Journalism Curriculum’ hosted by RMIT University in Australia in 2021, alongside relevant literature exploring the nature and presence of fact-check based education approaches at that time. It concludes that while fact-checking and verification are important skills for student journalists, fact checkers do not necessarily need to be journalists, nor indeed have journalistic training. However, more students are needed who are excellent journalists and the authors argue that fact-checking is just part of that training.

Problem-Based Learning: Media and Information Literacy Project to Combat Misinformation for Future Communicators

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) education can combat online misinformation by enhancing users’ fact-checking skills. This action research study designed and implemented a problem-based learning MIL project for journalism undergraduates. The objectives are (a) to design a MIL project by using a problem-based learning methodology; (b) to implement the MIL project and to assess its effectiveness in improving students’ fact-checking skills; and (c) to identify the challenges and limitations of implementing the project. Analysis shows that the MIL project successfully improved students’ MIL skills, including critical analysis, media production, and personal growth. Despite facing challenges like time constraint and limited generalizability, the study suggests that the MIL project could be replicated in other journalism programs to enhance MIL skills and cultivate critical thinking to fight misinformation.

Putting Forward Sustainability as a Model for Journalism Education and Training

ABSTRACT African journalism practice presents unique opportunities and challenges that require journalists to be equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge, and values to engage in sustainable journalism. Training institutions play a critical role in ensuring that journalists are not only professionally-ready to execute their mandate but also that they can safeguard and promote ethical values in their everyday work. Some of these values include “truth telling, independence, objectivity, fairness, inclusivity and social justice” (Gade, Nduka, and Dastger 2017, 10). Africa, like other regions of the Global South, has several journalism training institutions that provide an opportunity to challenge “hegemonic epistemologies and ontologies of Western-centric journalism studies” (Mutsvairo et al. 2021, 993). In the context of this submission, the present study investigates the current state of sustainable journalism in Africa. We examined data based on a syllabi analysis of journalism programs in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana to appraise what role sustainable journalism education and training could play in Africa. Findings show that efforts are already in place across select learning and training institutions but also point to profound gaps in the curriculum, pedagogy and resources needed to prepare journalists for sustainable journalism.

De periodismo a comunicación. La etapa inicial de la formación en comunicación en Argentina desde un estudio de caso (Córdoba)

En la década de los sesenta en Argentina se produjo un aumento de la oferta de carreras de grado en Periodismo. Un caso singular en ese momento fue la Escuela de Ciencias de la Información de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, ya que se proyectó sin pasar por una etapa de formación en Periodismo. El presente artículo es un avance preliminar de una investigación que tiene por objetivo estudiar los inicios de la investigación en comunicación en Argentina, centrándose en el caso cordobés. Se concluye que la formación y la producción de saberes están vinculados a las condiciones político-sociales contextuales.

Bridging the Skills Gap: Aligning Journalism Education with Industrial Needs in Nepal

In Nepal, many individuals joined the journalism profession without professional training or formal education in the past. With the 1990’s democratic transition, the journalism landscape underwent significant changes, marking a proliferation of news media outlets, academic programs, and training opportunities. Even with many journalism programs and training opportunities available, there are still a gap in skills between classroom learning and industry demands, leading to journalism graduates lacking some essential professional skills. This study investigates the contributing factors to this skills gap, comprising outdated curricula, limited exposure to the newsrooms, and the lack of practical know how as well as confidence to work in the modern-day digital newsrooms. Employing key informant interviews with working journalists, newsroom leaders, and journalism educators, and reviewing the relevant literature, this study identifies skills gap not only among fresh graduates but also mid-career professionals, and proposes strategies to match journalism education and training opportunities with industry needs. The findings underscore the requisite for market-oriented curriculum design and regular updates, skill-centric teaching methods, adequate internship opportunities for journalism students and hands-on training for working journalists to prepare them for the realities of Nepal's evolving media landscape.

The Role of Schools in Literacy in Elementary Schools

Literacy is closely related to an individual's ability to read, write, speak and understand information and solve daily life problems. The current literacy level of students is at a low level because there is still a lack of students being asked to read. Interest in reading is the desire and encouragement of students to like and enjoy reading activities. Based on the aim of this research, namely to determine the role of schools in literacy, this research uses descriptive qualitative research with data collection techniques through observation, interviews and documentation. The object of this research is SDN 194 Pekanbaru. In this research, three indicators were tested, namely the provision of infrastructure, the provision of school library programs and services. From these three indicators, the results showed that the role of school literacy has a fairly good average in improving students' literacy skills. From the results of observations made by researchers, it was found that the role of schools in literacy is to provide facilities and infrastructure for literacy at SDN 194 Pekanbaru, such as providing book reading corners in class, wall magazines, reading corners, posters with motivational words in class and also providing literacy programs such as: reading 30 before learning begins, a reading journal program which at the end of the semester, the best students will be given rewards and SDN 194 Pekanbaru also provides a library.

Message from the ISMAR 2023 Science and Technology Journal Program Chairs and TVCG Guest Editors

Message from the ISMAR 2023 Science and Technology Journal Program Chairs and TVCG Guest Editors

The Potential for Public Impact in a J Department’s Local Information Ecosystem: Key Ingredients for Starting a Journalism Teaching Hospital

Journalism teaching hospitals have long been a steady source of news in the communities they call home. As these programs have a track record of increasing essential public knowledge and adding vitality to journalism programs, this study mines the knowledge of current and former journalism teaching hospital leaders to ascertain the necessary elements for starting what will be a sustainable program. Critical elements found included a passionate founder, a local coverage gap the program can fill, and support from academic leadership.

Understanding journalism impact: A multi-dimensional taxonomy for professional, organizational and societal change

How should we measure the impact of investigative journalism? Media scholars and practitioners have turned their attention towards understanding the causal effect of media reports on a range of social, political and economic outcomes. Their interest has been spurred by the increased availability of data, by the emergence of new tools for rigorously assessing causal effects and by pressure from donors interested in understanding the returns on their investments in media and journalism programmes. Drawing on literature from multiple disciplines, we propose a multi-faceted metric which future researchers, journalists and news agencies will be able to use when analysing media impact.

Habituation of News Text Writing Skills in Elementary Schools through the Journalism Extracurricular Program

This research aims to analyze journalism extracurricular programs that can develop elementary school student's ability to write news texts. The research used descriptive qualitative methods with a case study strategy. The informants for this research were advisors, class teachers, and students. The results of the research showed that in the planning there is a school principal as the program compiler, the journalism extracurricular advisor have to master 5W+1H and create subject designs; the implementation of the journalism extracurricular program was done using the 5W+1H technique, and the observe, imitate, and modifications technique; the impact of implementing extracurricular journalism programs on students' writing skills increases as shown in their paragraph writing; The obstacles experienced were support from parents, learning motivation, student characteristics; and the solution used is to evaluate student progress at the end of the learning process via the WhatsApp group and accommodate learning styles.. The implications of the results of this research include: 1) school principals can make journalism extracurricular programs into mandatory programs and parents are involved in journalistic activities 2) teachers have to have journalistic skills, and 3) students have to write fluently or participate in journalistic activities more enthusiastically.

Connecting Sustainable Development with Media, Journalism and Communication Programs in European Universities

Abstract Media plays a critical role in shaping public opinion and policy on global issues related to sustainable development. As such, journalism higher education has an important responsibility to prepare journalism students to report on sustainable development issues and to promote the Sustainable Development Goals. However, integrating the SDGs into journalism curricula presents several challenges. This article reviews the current state of teaching the SDGs in European journalism higher education and identifies the challenges and opportunities for integrating the SDGs into journalism curricula. The authors examine the connection between journalism programs, courses and the topics of the SDGs, in the European university environment by accessing existing reports (mainly from institutions like UN, UNESCO, EU-HEIs), studies and articles on SDGs in journalism and the websites of EU-HEIs. The EU universities providing Journalism / Media Programs were selected based on three criteria: i/ the 2020 QS World University Ranking by Subject (subjects used: “communication & media studies”, “development studies”), ii/ Google search based on keywords related to journalism or media education and SDGs and iii/ existing partnerships LBUS has with European universities in the field of journalism and media.

Benefits of the project model capstone: Key experience themes for journalism students

Capstone units are culminating experiences typically offered in the final semester of a tertiary degree. Capstones are common across higher education, and are increasingly being offered in university journalism programs. However, there is no consensus about the most effective capstone for journalism. At least three models have been identified: the project, the newsroom simulation and the internship. While traditionally popular, the newsroom simulation and internship models have certain limitations, some of which have become more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journalism educators see merit in the project model but it is not widely used. To date, there has been a lack of research about how journalism students respond to the various capstone options. The study presented here makes a contribution to this field by describing graduating students’ feedback about a new project model capstone unit offered through an Australian journalism undergraduate program. It describes some of the key themes to emerge from survey responses from three cohorts of graduating students. The project experience was found to enhance both tradecraft and transferable ‘life skills’, and helped many students feel more prepared to enter the workforce. The project shows significant promise as a valid alternative capstone experience for journalism students.

Internship after Covid-19 Pandemic: An In-Depth Interview among Journalism Program Interns of a Malaysian Public Higher Learning Institution

This paper intends to explore the challenges encountered by journalism undergraduates while undergoing their internship after the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has interrupted students’ learning; thus, causing concern about their performance when undergoing industrial training. Poor performance by students during industrial training can create a negative perception among industry players toward a university. The study aimed to achieve in-depth interview sessions with a small group of final-year journalism program students at a public university in Malaysia who underwent a 14-week internship at various Malaysian companies after a series of nationwide lockdowns spanning almost 2 years. The findings of this research hopefully will provide rich insights into internship experiences, especially regarding the challenges faced by the students, which in turn will benefit the stakeholders, including the students, employers and educational institutions.
 Keywords: journalism, internship, industrial training, students’ experience, post-Covid- 19 1.

The participatory intensities of actors in private media teams' investigative journalism programs: A case study of Program Sar-e- Aam (Pakistan)

The participatory intensities of actors in private media teams' investigative journalism programs: A case study of Program Sar-e- Aam (Pakistan)

Investigating the Role of English as a Second Language in Supporting Career Development at Tertiary Level Education in Pakistan

This study has taken the initiation to focus on the interrelatedness and discontinuity of ESL among the students of four leading International universities: Punjab University, Lahore College for Women University, University of Management and Technology, and the University of Central Punjab. To observe the usage of ESL competencies in information searching, contrivance treatment, and construction for research purposes, and for applied intercultural professionalism, communication accommodation theory with career development indicators has been applied. A questionnaire (α = .702), comprising 37 statements based upon six domains was administered. The data was collected from 850 students of different degree programs in journalism and mass communication discipline. ANOVA (one-way) and t-tests (Independent Samples) were brought into play to find out the relationship between the study’s variables. Both government-regulated and non-government varsities bespoke similarities feting positive treatment of ESL’s functions while managing its impact according to their atmospheric obligations. The students of PU and LCWU proportionately adjudged second language more as confluent, dispenser, endorser, broker, liaison, and facilitator to be the source of providence for media in Pakistan as compared to the students of UMT and UCP. Overall results show that students took more precedence over practice patterns of ESL in their career building.

Survey and analysis of the data policy of the journals listed in the Excellence Action Plan for China's STM Journals Program for example

As an important output of scientific research, scientific data play an important role in scholarly communication. The establishment of the data policy of STM journals is of great significance to promote the data sharing, data reuse, data citation and scientific research evaluation. In this paper, by means of literature research and online research and based on the information published on journal websites, we surveyed the data policies operation status of 302 STM journals that were selected as the leading journals, key journals, and echelon journals in the Excellence Action Plan for China's STM Journals. Then we statistically analyzed the data policy setting, and the features of the policy, such as classification types, data availability, and data citation. The survey shows the current practice progress of China’s high-level STM journals related to scientific data publishing. Among the statistical journal sources, 81.82% of leading journals, 62.07% of key journals, 34.67% of echelon journals and 69.23% of high-starting new journals have formulated relevant data policies. According to survey results, the publication of data in STM journals has been widely recognized as one of the effective ways to promote scientific data sharing. Presently, all major publishing institutions have developed relevant data policies. Compared with the international counterparts, the data publishing of China’s STM journals still has a long way to go in industry recognition and framework strategy, and it is urgent to develop a universal data policy framework for different journals and publishers.

RANCANGAN DRAFT EVALUASI PROGRAM TELEVISI LOKAL DALAM EDUKASI KONSERVASI BUDAYA KALIMANTAN BARAT

The existence identification of local television as the mainstream media in cultural conservation education that did not apply systemic and scientific program evaluation is problematic which had implications for hampering the level of program progressivity, local television stations, and fulfilling the rights of local communities to obtain information with higher quality content. The purpose of this study was to design a draft evaluation for local television programs specifically for the Warta Citizen Journalism program at Television Ruai Pontianak used the CSE-UCLA evaluation model. This research used the Research and Development (RD) method. The result of the research was the production of a local television program evaluation draft consisting of a general detailed narrative of the program referring to the CSE UCLA evaluation component namely system assessment, planning, implementation, implementation, development and program certification as evaluation material that can be used by assessors given authority by the party. company, in addition to involving other information deemed relevant. This study also produced an assessment instrument in the form of an evaluation questionnaire specially designed for assessors who are representative parties in all entities related to broadcasting, starting from educators, cultural figures, indigenous peoples, viewers and non-viewers of Ruai TV, to civil society in carrying out the assessment. critical and objective.