Is The Web Killing Journalism Schools?

from the too-much-to-teach dept

Journalism schools are struggling with how to deal with the internet. Some are teaching web design and presentation, while others feel they should focus just on content. There seems to be a lot of disagreement about what's the best way to teach journalism. I'd guess that it probably helps to have some basic technology skills - enough to understand what opportunities the web provides you with as a journalist - but the main point of journalism school should be to teach students how to be good journalists.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Michelle, 19 Jul 2001 @ 11:34am

    No Subject Given

    Journalism schools should definitely teach good journalism (have you read some of the writers out there today??). BUT -- they do need to be teaching Web language, as well. Check out the help wanted section in AZ... you can't get a job as a journalist unless you know HTML, etc. One person for four-plus specialties: The New Economy.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike (profile), 19 Jul 2001 @ 3:17pm

      Re: No Subject Given

      Well, as someone who thinks that everyone should know basic HTML skills, I can see why it's important - but why should it be the responsbility of a journalism school which should focus on more fundamental journalism concepts? Most anyone can pick up basic HTML in a few hours (possibly minutes). Good journalism skills aren't so easy...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Michelle, 24 Jul 2001 @ 11:32am

        Re: No Subject Given

        Unfortunately, with the way the world works today, it doesn't seem possible to excel with only one specialized skill set. Yes, the main focus of a journalism school should be journalism. But you'll never get a journalism job without other skills. For example, I don't know HTML (yep, it's true... somehow never had to do it and so never learned), but I took graphic design classes. Most journalism jobs require either one or the other, so I was ok. But without knowing that, I would have been very, very limited and would still possibly be looking for work. If a school is to prepare you for the "real world," they must take into account what that real world requires and provide some background -- even if it's just minimal.

        link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.