CJC at the 2019 WJEC Conference
July 9-11, 2019
Paris, France
Dr. Roxane Coche, assistant professor, Telecommunication Department
Sports Journalism Education’s Evolution: How Programs Integrate Technology, Branding and Strategic Media.
Abstract: The evolution and growth of the sport media industry has two significant consequences for journalism education: (1) sports-focused program are multiplying, and (2) internships and jobs are no longer limited to the traditional writing and broadcasting journalistic positions, such as beat reporter or play-by-play commentator. Instead, many positions now require job seekers to understand some basics of technology, branding and strategic media in addition to or in lieu of the traditional tenets of journalism – truth and accuracy, independence, fairness and impartiality, humanity and accountability. This study examines the integration of technology, branding and strategic media into sports journalism education by surveying faculty members who teach sports-related courses at ACEJMC-accredited institutions and their students. Both surveys will be mixed-method in nature with quantitative questions using seven-point Likert scales and qualitative questions asking respondents to reflect on their assignments and courses from their own perspective.
Dr. Sriram Kalyanaraman, director, Media Effects and Technology Lab
Decision-making Under Duress: Virtual Reality as a Methodological Novelty in Journalism Education
Co-authors: Daniel Pimentel, Ph.D. student, Shiva Halan, former post-doctoral research associate, Ted Spiker, chair, Department of Journalism
Abstract:
The current project proposes to harness the interactive power of VR to offer a perspective-taking experience that simulates varied levels of stress/pressure that are ubiquitous in several journalism scenarios (e.g., a journalist covering a charged political protest; a correspondent reporting a natural calamity as it is unfolding; a reporter covering a war zone). The congeries of immersive experiences will help aspiring and current journalists enhance their storytelling skills by applying recommended reporting skills in a simulated, “real-world” environment. In these situations, communities rely on media members to provide credible (and often vital) information. Training journalists in these environments has been impossible to simulate until now; virtual environments now allow us to do that.
Dr. Norm Lewis, associate professor, Journalism Department
Defining and Teaching Data Journalism: A Typology
Abstract: A thematic evaluation of about 240 data journalism courses resulted in a progressive, tripartite typology that defines and demarcates the field. At the center is pattern detection, preceded by data acquisition and standardization, and followed by data representation. The typology advances academic understanding of data journalism by offering a more compact conceptualization, distinguishing the field from technologies best reserved for digital journalism, and providing a fresh definition of data journalism as reliance on numerical evidence to detect patterns. The typology offers educators directed application of three social science principles and creates an evaluation tool to assess data programs.
Syndicate: Teaching data journalism and computational skills
Description: Data journalism skill sets include more than the use of spreadsheets. Mapping and GIS, statistical analysis of large data sets, creation of bots and even machine learning can be part of journalism projects today. How should journalism education adapt to prepare students for work in these areas? It might be necessary, even vital, to make space for at least fundamental data and coding skills in an already crowded curriculum. The challenge is twofold. First, to create beginner modules that teach students to access data repositories, via working with datasets and visualizing data. Second, to offer advanced modules that cover computational methods.
The question: What essential computational skills must emerging journalists learn to successfully work with data, and what approach should we take toward teaching them?
Mindy McAdams, professor, Journalism Department
Panel: 10 New Skills Journalists Need in 2020
Description: Which skills are must-haves for everyone, and which should be reserved for specialists? How should we alter the curriculum to make room?
Syndicate: Teaching data journalism and computational skills
Description: Data journalism skill sets include more than the use of spreadsheets. Mapping and GIS, statistical analysis of large data sets, creation of bots and even machine learning can be part of journalism projects today. How should journalism education adapt to prepare students for work in these areas? It might be necessary, even vital, to make space for at least fundamental data and coding skills in an already crowded curriculum. The challenge is twofold. First, to create beginner modules that teach students to access data repositories, via working with datasets and visualizing data. Second, to offer advanced modules that cover computational methods.
The question: What essential computational skills must emerging journalists learn to successfully work with data, and what approach should we take toward teaching them?
Dr. David Ostroff, chair, Telecommunication Department
Curriculum and Requirements in Undergraduate Online Degree Programs in Journalism and Communications in U.S. Not-for-Profit Universities
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to analyze the degree requirements and curriculum of university undergraduate online degree programs in journalism and communications. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges of developing and these programs in public universities.
Dr. Ron Rodgers, professor, Journalism Department
All Pain Is Anecdotal: Contesting the Boundaries of a Craft Through the Lens of Literary Journalism
Abstract: This exploratory paper investigates some of the elements, theories, authors, and literary and social theorists covered in an undergraduate class intertwined with a summary of the students’ revelations and expanding renegotiations about their understandings of journalism that have arisen from the study of literary journalism. In the process, it outlines ideas about an argument for the efficacy of making students aware of – through the lens of literary journalism – (1) the unremitting imposition of new forms that will be a reality for the rest of their careers, (2) the higher-order problems, issues, skills, and precepts of journalism within an expansive definition of the craft, and (3) the struggle to reach some semblance of an understanding about the notions of objectivity and subjectivity and their relevance to the journalistic act.
Dr. Kim Walsh-Childers, professor, Journalism Department
Panel: Preparing Journalism Students for Skeptical and Fact-Resistant Audiences
Description: Teaching journalism is built on the premise that an audience waits in readiness to consume the content produced. Yet mainstream journalism has lost much of its audience to purveyors of propaganda, misinformation and disinformation. Journalism schools must act swiftly to equip students with sophisticated social media and old-school skills to rebuild trust in the news. Technology provides some answers to the problem of instant fact-checking and verification. But without credibility, facts lack impact. Journalism schools should consider modules that hold the greatest promise for rebuilding trust in journalism.
Developing Criteria for Assessing the Quality of News Coverage of Health Policy: Insights from Health Policy Experts
Co-Author: Dr. Jennifer Braddock, adjunct faculty, Department of Journalism
Abstract: This paper will describe the results of a series of in-depth interviews with health policy experts on the question of what elements are most critical for journalists to include in stories about health policy. Although data analysis is ongoing, interviews with these experts, all of whom have had significant experience in working with journalists covering health policy issues, already have identified a number of key issues health policy stories should address to be of greatest use to consumers.