What is a Journalist in a University?

Abstract

This paper argues that those who see no place for media theory in journalism education have adopted an intellectual approach to journalism which is both inappropriate in a university context and serves neither journalism nor audiences well. Rather, the interaction between the professional practice of journalism and theory and research into journalism can be a close and dynamic one in which research can produce innovative journalism and the professional practice of journalism and experiences of audiences can feed into a research agenda. Links between journalism research and journalism professional practice can be found in journalism about journalism and in the everyday talk of journalists and audiences. Three case studies which have arisen during recent experience in teaching journalism at the University of Technology, Sydney are used to demonstrate these points.

A new approach to the education system of Communication Faculties

“…Sertifika programlarının çoğu özel sektör tarafından desteklenmektedir (Medsger, 1998: 56;Yıldırım, 2006: 131). Bu programlara rağmen iletişim eğitiminin medya sektörü ile arasına mesafe koyarak verilmesinin uygun olacağını belirten görüşler vardır (Bacon, 1999;Adam, 2001;Reese ve Cohen, 2001;Skinner vd., 2001;de Burgh, 2003;Deuze, 2006;Yıldırım, 2006: 131). İletişim eğitimi konusunda Birmingham Kültürel Çalışmalar Okulu gibi, Kıta Avrupa'sı geleneğini sorgulayan farklı arayışlar da olmuştur.…”

UniPollWatch

“…Major elements in the literature include debates around whether journalism is a trade or occupation (see Tumber & Prentoulis, 2005), professionalism (Schudson & Anderson, 2009), journalism methodology (de Burgh, 2003) and universities versus industry as the best place for journalistic training (Cushion, 2007; Deuze, 2006). In Australia, similar debates continue around the question of professional skills versus theoretical knowledge and journalism’s place in research universities (see Bacon, 1999, 2006; Hirst, 2010; Lindgren & Phillips, 2011; Nash, 2013; Nolan, 2008; Richards, 2009).…”

Investigative journalism in the academy—possibilities for storytelling across time and space

“…This was especially true for those working in new universities which had been polytechnics or colleges of advanced education before becoming full universities. As I have argued previously, for the small number of journalism academics who taught investigative journalism, there was a strong incentive to renew their practice in order to keep abreast with new techniques and practices and to update their experience in ways that were relevant to contemporary students and media (Bacon, 1998;Bacon, 1999).…”

“…Journalism academics entering the field were not encouraged to extend and deepen their own professional practice as journalists as a form of research practice. Instead they focused on developing scholarly works in fields that were relevant but different from journalism such as history and politics (Bacon, 1999). While this scholarly activity made a significant and continuing contribution to media and journalism studies, journalism academics believed, and often continue to believe, that their own professional practice and knowledge is not highly valued in academe.…”