Convergence and Divergence in Journalism Education

1. Convergence and Divergence in Journalism Education Donica Mensing Associate Professor/Academic Chair Reynolds School of Journalism University of Nevada, Reno @donica Shaping the Future of News Media The International Conference on Integrated Journalism Education, Research and Innovation Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, June 17-19, 2015

2. PROVOKE QUESTIONS SPARK IDEAS ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION CASE STUDY: FERGUSON REFLECTIONS ON JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISM EDUCATION TODAY’S PRESENTATION

3. #FERGUSON FOR QUOTES AND SUCH WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT THE STATE OF US JOURNALISM TODAY?

4. #FERGUSON FOR QUOTES AND SUCH WHAT MAKES THE NEWS AGENDA?

5. #FERGUSON FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

8. “about 1,100 deaths a year, or three a day” Federal experts have long acknowledged that [the FBI] estimate is too low, and a handful of more recent, unofficial reports — online databases compiled and fact-checked by volunteers — place the toll much higher, at about 1,100 deaths a year, or three a day. Yet they do not suggest that the pace of police killings or the racial composition of victims as a group has changed significantly in the last two years or so.

11. #FERGUSON FOR QUOTES AND SUCH HOW IS THE NEWS COVERED?

16. CONVERGENCE CONVERGENCE OF JOURNALISTIC ACTORS: CITIZENS AND JOURNALISTS REPORTING AND PUBLISHING THE SAME EVENT CONVERGENCE IN THE USE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS CONVERGENCE OF GLOBAL ATTENTION BY INTERNATIONAL NEWS MEDIA CONVERGENCE OF MEDIA POWER TO DOMINATE PUBLIC ATTENTION OVER TIME USE OF CONVERGED MEDIA: TEXT, AUDIO, VIDEO, PHOTOS, GRAPHICS BY NEWS OUTLETS

17. DIVERGENCE DIVERGENT PUBLICS, NOW WITH VOICES DIVERGENT JOURNALISMS, IN PURPOSE AND MISSION DIVERGENCE IN TRUST AND DISTRUST OF INSTITUTIONS, INC. JOURNALISM DIVERGENCE IN THE FORMS OF A STORY: LIVE STREAMS, TWEETS, POSTS, DOCUMENTARIES, MAPS, DATA, MEMORIES, CONVENTIONAL NEWS DIVERGENCE IN USE OF PLATFORMS: TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, TUMBLR, USTREAM, WEB, PRINT, TV and DIVERGENCE IN USE OF DEVICES: DESKTOP, TABLET, SMARTPHONE

18. Journalism Education CONVERGENCE The challenges we face as journalism educators (Deuze, 2006)

19. RESPOND TO CONVERGENCE OF JOURNALISTIC ACTORS TEACH JOURNALISM AS A HUMAN RIGHT AS WELL AS A PROFESSION PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS. DEVELOP EXERCISES IN LISTENING, EMPATHY DEVELOP COMPETENCIES IN COMMUNITY DYNAMICS

20. RECOGNIZE DIVERSITY AND AUTONOMY OF PUBLICS EXPERIMENT WITH HOW TO ENGAGE PUBLICS/AUDIENCES PRACTICE USER DESIGN THINKING METHODS INTERROGATE ADAPTION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNIQUES PURPOSEFULLY CREATE ASSIGNMENTS TO SERVE DIFFERENT PUBLICS

21. CONVERGENT USE OF DIVERGENT PLATFORMS TEACH BASIC LITERACY OF CURRENT PLATFORMS REQUIRE STUDENTS TO BECOME EXPERTS IN AT LEAST ONE WE NEED TO BE “PLATFORM DEVOUT”, NOT JUST PLATFORM AGNOSTIC, SAYS VIVIAN SCHILLER

22. EXPAND THE EXPECTATIONS OF A “STORY” WHAT BASIC UNIT OF JOURNALISM MIGHT WE TEACH FIRST? ENCOURAGE FACULTY TO BECOME EXPERTS IN AT LEAST ONE NEW FORM CREATE METHODS TO DEVELOP, DESCRIBE, ANALYZE, AND EVALUATE NEW FORMS CATEGORIZE NEW FORMS: NARRATIVE, DATA AND SOCIAL, FOR EXAMPLE

23. Journalism Education DIVERGENCE “The theory-practice division is the most pervasive issue regarding the content of journalism education.” (Nordenstreng, European Journalism Education)

24. Journalism Education We will never choose theory without practice, or practice without theory. Our contribution as academics and educators is to figure out how to merge theory and practice effectively.

25. HOW MIGHT WE DO THIS? APPLY EXPERIMENT COLLABORATE Incorporate research generated in journalism studies and related fields and apply it to classroom work. Develop support for experimentation in the classroom: train for it, reward it, evaluate it. Publish your assignments and experiments. Set up collaborations; share freely with colleagues. Set up learning communities.

26. HOW MIGHT WE DO THIS? INVEST IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Encourage every faculty member to embody practice and theory in their work with students and in their scholarship. Support these efforts through professional development, rewards and mentoring. CHANGE AHEAD

27. CONTACT EMAIL: dmensing@unr.edu TWITTER: @donica Q A& TWEET YOUR EXAMPLES: ‪#NewsMediaBCN‪‬ TIME FOR QUESTIONS