Although the lack of diversity in newsrooms and reporting remains a serious issue in the journalism industry, college journalism education and student media provide a critical opportunity for change. Yet prior research has found notable diversity gaps in both. This study analyzed the state of diversity at a Midwestern university student newspaper…

What skills, attributes, and experiences are needed for a visual journalism job in a contemporary print and digital newsroom? Previous attempts at answering this question examine it through insights from hiring managers or news editors, often collected retrospectively or at arbitrary times of the year through surveys; analyses of position…

Broadcast journalism writing and reporting classes are designed to help students develop writing skills for multiple platforms, but many television news professionals think student writing and other necessary skills for the industry need improvement. Television news anchors, reporters, producers, and news directors who completed an online survey…

A confluence of forces has brought journalism and journalism education to a precipice. The rise of fascism, the advance of digital technology, and the erosion of the economic foundation of news media are disrupting journalism and mass communication (JMC) around the world. Combined with the increasingly globalized nature of journalism and media,…

Objectively assessing student creative work in the fields associated with mass media can be problematic. Communicating expectations to students, as well as providing them with a clear yet flexible rubric for evaluation of copywriting, newswriting, audio production, video production, and web-design, requires examination of the relevant student…

Despite shrinking newsrooms, we have more journalism choices, in part because of freelance journalists. Freelancing creates workers who are particularly adaptive and creative; skills educators want to instill in students. I interviewed and surveyed more than 50 freelance journalists in several countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Colombia, Israel,…

Objectivity has long been contentious in American journalism. Many practitioners call it essential to a news organization's credibility. Critics, however, hold objectivity is impossible and urge reporters simply to reveal their biases. For educators, teaching objectivity is challenging. Some, seeking a middle ground, instead urge fairness and…

In 2002, a study was published in "Newspaper Research Journal" that explored the preparedness of graduating journalism students to cover business news. In 2012, a follow-up survey of business editors at the nation's daily newspapers was done to see whether progress had been made in the training of journalism students for the…

Journalism programs working to stay current with industry practice often struggle to do so without forgoing traditional journalism skills and attributes. This longitudinal study involves content analysis of more than 1,800 jobs posted in either 2010 or 2015 by companies listed among the top 10 newspaper and broadcast journalism companies in the…

This case study examines a creative approach by two journalism professors to enhance experiential learning in separate skills-based newswriting and editing courses by collaborating to produce a live online news report from campus each week on a four-hour deadline. The study builds on previous research into how innovative classroom structures that…

This student newsroom ethnography examines the emergent culture and values of a group-created news and information content with a mobile-first focus. Using semi-structured interviews from 12 participants working on a mobile-optimized summer news project, the study provides insights on the work practices of the digital student newsroom. Validated…

This study examined introductory journalism writing courses and compared hybrid (part online/part classroom) versus online grammar instruction. The hybrid structure allowed for grammar topics to be taught online, with a pretest following, and then reviewing missed/difficult pretest concepts in class prior to a posttest. The quasi-experimental…

Journalism professors are concerned with how effectively students understand current news events and engage with mainstream news sources. This essay is based on a survey administered to students in a newswriting course and analyzed the kinds of current news that students followed in weekly assignments designed with a digital, interactive approach.…

Surveys sources of news stories written by students in a media writing course concerning issues such as accuracy of facts, correct information, and use of direct quotes. Notes that having news sources respond to students' stories helps them to understand the importance of accuracy in writing and the implications of working with sources. (PA)

Shows how a reasonably thorough understanding of risk reporting can be taught in a basic environmental reporting course by applying S. Klaidman's (1990) "Reasonable Reader" approach. Discusses what risk reporting is and what its biases are. Outlines the environmental course, the teaching of risk reporting, and the "Reasonable…