ONA insights from a grad student and journalism educator
As journalism continues to evolve, it’s critical that the people who teach the craft to the next generation of journalists convene to share, listen, learn and meet one another.
And hundreds of educators did just that at this year’s ONA conference, which was held earlier this month in Washington D.C.
Educators dove into sessions about revenue, VR and AR, trust, engagement, data tools, ethics and much more. Additionally, many educators participated in academia-driven events to connect and learn from one another.
As a current CUNY Graduate School of Journalism student and adjunct professor who is working to better understand this community of educators, I benefitted greatly from these discussions. I’m wrapping up my time in the CUNY social journalism program listening to the needs of journalism educators and students in the hopes of creating something that can bring this group together.
The Tow-Knight Center was able to support 17 journalism educators – aptly named #DisruptiveEducators for their interest in pushing journalism education ahead.
I met many of these intrepid educators at the conference, and am learning more about them and their work through their weekly disruptive posts in the Disruptive Journalism Educators Network group on Facebook. Meet them here, and join the group to take part in the discussion.
Here are few insights I garnered from the conference:
1. The biggest issue journalism educators face is the need to stay up-to-date.
At the beginning of the Educators Session (hosted by Tow-Knight), we asked the audience to take a survey, which asked educators to identify the biggest issues in journalism education.
More than 60 educators completed the survey and two-thirds of the participants said the biggest threat to journalism education is out-of-date, legacy curriculum. Nearly 60 percent of the educators who took this survey also said “keeping educators up-to-date” is critical.
Educators cited a few reasons why it’s often hard to stay “current.”
Often, it takes a few years to implement a new journalism course into the curriculum. By the time the class is a go, there may be a new technology or concept that replaces what you were going to focus on in the course.
Many educators, too, teach at small colleges or universities that may have a limited budget. Accreditation is a time-consuming process and can impact the staff involved.
Earlier in the day during the table talks session, educators gathered to discuss exactly these issues. Participants visited different tables to discuss various obstacles educators face when it comes to teaching the next generation of journalists.
“We define news based on models that do not exist anymore,” said CUNY Graduate School of Journalism Associate Dean and Professor Andrew Mendelson. “That has defined us, it still defines us and that’s a really important thing to overturn.”
This discussion solidified my earlier belief that it’s critical for educators to stay in touch with other educators. I believe that educators can benefit from educator-focused Facebook groups and meetups like ONA, but that action is more doable in partnerships or small groups.
That’s why I pitched the idea of an educator’s matchmaker service to the ONA Educators and DJEN groups on Facebook. In this “program,” educators (and students potentially) could elect to be part of a mentor/mentee relationship, or with a peer who has a particular skill. Perhaps you have a strong background in broadcast journalism, but want to learn more about audience engagement.
More than 15 educators have responded with positive feedback to this idea. That’s a great number to start with, so look out for more information in the Facebook groups about this.
2. Audience engagement must be at the forefront of our teaching
During the conference, everyone — not just educators — was buzzing about engagement. And many newsrooms are still trying to figure out exactly what engagement looks like for them.
Engagement ranked high on our Tow-Knight survey, with about 40 percent of educators saying this is a critical area to focus on in our teaching.
How we create, deliver, receive and digest news is constantly changing. Educators have a duty to understand how journalism is evolving and teach students how to adapt to its changes.
Trust and listening, many said, are essential to engagement.
Engagement requires journalists to trust its audience, and allow them to be part of the journalistic process.
3. We can’t forget about accreditation
Accreditation came up in every academic-focused event at the conference. It was discussed in my small group at the table talks session. The panel from “So you want to work in academia?” chatted about it. And educators brought it up during the town hall discussion portion of the educators session with Jeff Jarvis.
It also came up in our survey, but surprisingly, only 20 percent of the participants marked it as one of the most important topics to tackle.
Many educators said accreditation impedes on their ability to innovate their journalism curriculum.
“Could we imagine a world where changing rapidly without accreditation? Can we be a voice and force for that?” Jarvis asked.
4. We need to talk about diversity and inclusiveness in j-schools
Diversity was mentioned a few times in educators sessions. I believe it needs to be discussed every single time we meet.
Survey participants noted the need to make this a priority in the larger discussions about the future of j-schools.
Last month, I started a thread in the DJEN group to discuss diversity and inclusiveness at j-schools. I am pleased with the amount of people interested in this topic, and want to work to convene educators who are ready to take action.
I’ve created a space for those who are ready to take action when it comes to diversity and inclusiveness. If you’d like to join the chat, you can find it here. The goal is for it to be a safe and productive space for educators and students to discuss diversity.
5. We are at our best when we work together
The best part of the ONA conference – at least for me – is meeting others who are passionate about the same things.
We need to convene as a group more often!
We’re a smart bunch, and if we leverage each other’s skills and talents, we can be engaging and effective journalism educators. We need to collaborate. I think we’re at our best when we listen, share and learn from one another.
If you’re an educator, or are interested in journalism higher education and want to chat, please reach out! You can email me at melissa.dipento@journalism.cuny.edu.
