… list this URL questioning the value of a journalism degree and journalism programs. It was written by Professor Jon Funabaki. It is an old (ooo-ooo-old) blog post but important for those trying to evaluate the merit of journalism courses and programs, that is, students who want journalism careers and instructors who teach in journalism programs and are serious about what they teach. This post was prompted by a discussion with a colleague this past semester in the Department of Film and Media Studies where I teach.
He acted surprised when I stated that J-courses requiring students to publish articles and develop other portfolios to be published/broadcast/disseminated (pictures, moving images, new media, et.al.) were more important than so-called theoretical classes that don’t require much writing and aren’t nearly as effective encouraging critical thinking as instructors who teach the courses claim them to be.
I said – he expressed surprise hearing – that the publishing/portfolio classes significantly improve students’ chances of, gasp [his, not mine], getting internships and jobs. However, I did not say at the time that such classes can be significantly much better for stimulating critical thinking processes.
There was an oops in my commenting at the time. I neglected to say that ethics classes are also important even though ethics as a topic should be part of all news and nonfiction writing classes.
So there.
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Tags: journalism education