March 2013: Common Issues Face Journalism Programs Today

While attempting to shape curriculum, journalism programs across the country face similar, complex issues to keep pace with today's evolving field. With more skills required for entry-level journalists, one of the challenges is shaping classes to not onlywhat students need to know but also the skills they already bring.

In this issue, Dr. Jeff Wilkinson of Houston Baptist University writes about the effective steps for building a better journalism program, the decisions that need to be made in the trenches. He says it's vital for educators to assess their program in three areas. Once they've done that, the proper steps can be taken to get a program to the next level.

Join the conversation at The Convergence Newsletter blog and at the newsletter's Facebook or Google+ pages. View the full archive of newsletters at http://http://sc.edu/cmcis/news/convergence/index.html.

February 2013: Understanding journalism's future vital for educators

In the February issue of The Convergence Newsletter, Shixin Zhang and David Edwards of the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, China, pose an interesting look at the future of journalism education. The professors examine the changing world of journalism and offer a formula on the future of its education. 

It begs the question of  how we teach students in this constantly redeveloping field? Read the article and post your comments below. Be sure to visit the newsletter on our Facebook and Google+ pages as well.

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December 2012: A call to disrupt convergence

Larry Dailey issues a provocative call to disrupt convergence projects between colleges and newspapers in America. The University of Nevada-Reno professor questions whether some of the partnerships do more than provide newspapers with free student labor. Read Dailey's article in the December edition of the The Convergence Newsletter, and post your thoughts below. What should college journalism programs require of newspapers, television stations, and other news businesses in a convergence partnership? Continue the conversation on the newsletter's Google+ or Facebook pages.

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November 2012: How students seek information in the age of convergence

The new technology explosion requires that media audiences learn and maintain new skills for information literacy so they can find, filter, evaluate, and use information.

In the new issue of The Convergence Newsletter, Alex Gorelik and Anton Bezuglov of Benedict College report on their experiment to determine how students seek and evaluate information. Their pilot study used T.D. Wilson's framework of information-seeking behavior to record students' choices as they searched for the answer to a question. Gorelik and Bezuglov found that students' impatience to find a clear answer can trump even their knowledge that a single information source may be suspect. Read the article, then visit the newsletter's Facebook and Google+ pages.


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October 2012: Teaching the business of journalism, while teaching business journalism

Barbara Selvin of Stony Brook offers a detailed look at teaching journalism students about the business side of the industry. In The Convergence Newsletter, she argues that students need a deeper understanding of business as they enter a changing field and a challenging job market. Selvin explains how she integrates the business of journalism into her semester-long course.

How do you prepare students for the challenges of the job market? Leave your thoughts below or on Facebook or Google+.

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October 2012: Seven functions of Twitter for journalists

A veteran researcher asks if journalists are making the full use of Twitter and looks at the possibilities in The Convergence Newsletter. The 6-year-old Twitter platform has become a staple of journalistic routines and offers a range of ways to inform and engage with readers. Newsletter founder Augie Grant suggests a typology of functions for reporters and researchers to consider. Read the article, then join the conversation below or on Facebook or Google+.

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September 2012: Nonprofit news sites face a different set of challenges

As the Great Recession accelerated the decline of traditional news operations in the U.S. and some other countries, the number of nonprofit news ventures has increased to fill the reporting void. In a new article, two veterans of nonprofit startups explore the different set of challenges nonprofits face. Read the article, then join the discussion below or at The Convergence Newsletter's Google+ or Facebook pages. 

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