Issues in multimedia journalism

It seems incredible, in a world where we are witnessing such drastic change to the media industry from citizen journalism to job losses, that the institutions training the reporters of tomorrow aren’t necessarily providing students with the skills to survive beyond their courses.

New York University journalism student Alana Taylor wrote this embed report for MediaShift criticising the university and her professor for not sufficiently covering new media:

I was hoping NYU would offer more classes where I could understand the importance of new media, what it means, how to adapt to the new way of reporting

Some establishments are incorporating online and multimedia subjects, like our university, and, realistically, it is difficult to conceptualise what the ideal new media journalism course would consist of.  Here is a list of the things Mindy McAdams, university lecturer and blogger, believes journalism students need to know right now.  But the difficulty is, with the rate of technological advancement how do we ensure content is relevant and avoid overwhelming students?

This is an article discussing whether new media can really be taught.

Perhaps we should also be looking toward the media industry itself to invest in training for journalists and increase their own profits.  Here is an interesting interview with the BBC’s Manager for Online and Informal Learning on how they are approaching the need to educate staff.

Below is a video of Paul Bradshaw, a journalism professor in England sharing his views on not only how to ensure students succeed in the ‘media market’, and whether we should be preparing them for a career in newspapers considering the current media landscape.