1. The “Arab Spring” and the Role of
Journalism Curriculum
Kip Wotkyns Assistant Professor of Journalism
Metropolitan State University of Denver
© 2006 Wotkyns Creative

2. Outline
The need for change in journalism
A practical path forward for change curriculum
Best practices in journalism education
2

3. Outline
The need for change in journalism
A practical path forward for change curriculum
Best practices in journalism education
3

4. The State of the Media
Social media has
compressed the
degree of social
separation:
FB = 4.76
Twitter = 3.5
4

5. Journalism is quickly changing
Social media, citizen journalism
and the prolonged global
recession are all factors causing
the rapid evolution of journalism.
Look no further than the “Arab
Spring”
5

6. Demand for journalism is stronger than
ever
Analysis of more than
a million blogs and
social media sites
finds that 80 percent
of the links are to U.S.
legacy media.
6

7. Distrust is rampant
71 percent of Americans feel now that
most news sources are biased in their
coverage and 70 percent feel overwhelmed
rather than informed by the amount of
news and information they see.

8. Distrust of the U.S. Government
 Distrust of the U.S. Congress
is at historic lows. Only 9%
of the population approves
of Congress
 Occupy Wall Street Protestors
 “Fiscal cliff” debacle

9. What’s the future look like?
 Business model that monetizes online journalism
 Radical decentralization
 Citizen journalism
 If past is prolong, legacy media
doesn’t die, it evolves
 Media convergence
 Middle East unrest

10. Outline
The need for change in journalism
A practical path forward for change curriculum
Best practices in journalism education
10

11. Practical path forward
 Digital revolution
 Don’t fight it, adapt
and change
 Media convergence
 Teach the online
skills students will
need in the
workplace
11

12. Planning
 Know your audience
 Respond industry
demand
 Research
 Patience
 Trust the data

13. Created a new major
 Convergent
Journalism major
 Extended major
 Language
requirement
 Core content
 Plus dissemination
13

14. Outline
The need for change in journalism
A practical path forward for change curriculum
Best practices in journalism education
14

15. Best practices – Metro State’s solution
 Content is king
 Synthesize
 Technology skill set
is in demand
 Backpack journalists
 Discounted hiring
15

16. Beautiful game
 Journalism matters
 Democracy
 Investigative journalism
 Speaking truth to power
 Getting it right
 Truth wins out
 Hope

17. Thank you
R.S. (Kip) Wotkyns III
Assistant
Professor of
Journalism
A message of hope