J-schools maneuver journalists' relationship with social media

Posted by Liz Webber on June 22, 2009 at 3:41 PM

As the controversy over the recent election in Iran and the subsequent media response have made abundantly clear, social media like Twitter are playing an increasing role in the world of journalism. While today's working journalists must learn how these tools will affect their jobs on the fly, j-schools have a great opportunity to instruct the next generation of journalists before they enter the newsroom.

In a column on Mashable, Vadim Lavrusik - himself a journalism student at Columbia University - outlines "10 Ways Journalism Schools Are Teaching Social Media." Lavrusik spoke with professors and deans at some of the top j-schools in the US, who told him how their respective schools have integrated lessons about how new technology can assist in reporting and provide a tool for promotion and self-branding on the web. The questions Lavrusik raises regarding ethics and social media are perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the article, and could have real consequences for students.

Many of the items on Lavrusik's list deal with taking advantage of social media to report stories in a way unheard of even five years ago. For example, students can use the Internet phone service Skype to interview subjects across the globe, and make an audio recording of the interview to add an extra element to a print story.

The j-school staff also stressed the relevance of social media for self-promotion. Students can start a blog or post links on Facebook to the work they've done. These things combine to "build the personal brand" of the student, which can help down the road when it comes time to enter the job market.

Lesson number nine on Lavrusik's list calls into question the ethics associated with journalists who use social networks. He brings up the notion that journalists are supposed to be ideologically neutral - what does that mean then when it comes to joining politically minded groups on Facebook?

There are clearly a myriad of other ethics debates surrounding the relationship between journalism and online media. Last September, a student in New York University's undergraduate journalism program caused an uproar when she blogged about a class for an assignment with PBS's MediaShift without first alerting the professor of her intentions. (Ironically, the class's subject matter was new media.) Adam Penenberg, an assistant journalism professor at NYU and chairman of the department's ethics committee, came out vehemently against the incident, while MediaShift strongly defended its decision to run the student's piece. Eventually, the PBS ombudsman weighed in, siding with Penenberg and NYU.

Most discussions regarding the changing nature of teaching journalism are not quite so contentious. In March, in a live chat on Poynter led by Maurreen Skowran, a copy editor at The News & Observer, several participants sited courses in digital technology as essential to j-school curricula. In more concrete examples, five months ago Texas Christian University announced plans to expand its journalism school with a "convergence lab" to teach students how to report the same story across multiple platforms. Last July, the University of Florida said it would open a center to educate students in digital media and to conduct research in the field.

Last Friday, Paris' Sciences Po École de journalisme hosted a conference on the "Challenges and Evolution of Journalism Education," attended by journalism educators from around the world. One topic of discussion: j-schools should be doing more to introduce digital media in the classroom.

Social media are just one part of the vast new world of online tools journalists now have at their disposal, and their applications have not yet been completely explored. Lavrusik's "10 Ways" present a great start, but today's journalism students will undoubtedly discover even more uses in the months and years to come.

Source: Mashable