Fill in this statement with one of the following answers:
Computer-assisted journalism instruction in the US journalism schools is:
A. The foundation of a department-wide re-examination of the journalism curriculum.
B. Desirable but there are just too many hurdles to getting a program started.
C. Largely ignored, it isn't considered fundamental to the training and education of journalism students.
The correct answer is: A, B and C. Depending on the school, one of these scenarios applies.
There are some signs that teaching the techniques of computer-assisted journalism is becoming a part of the US journalism training scene. In her recent report for the Freedom Forum, "Winds of Change: Whither Journalism Education?", Betty Medsger found, "34% (of the surveyed schools) require students to take courses that include instruction in the use of computers as research and communication tools." Although it does not break down into the types of courses, it is a safe assumption that use of the Internet for news reporting and research is the bulk of the instruction. The wider field of computer-assisted reporting techniques (use of spreadsheets for data analysis, building databases for original data collection, and more sophisticated statistical analysis techniques) is probably less often part of the journalism education curriculum.
There are mixed messages from news organization and future journalists about the importance of CAJ training. In her study Medsger found, "Only 20% of newsroom recruiters and supervisors thought it was very important for a beginning journalist to have computer-research skills. By contrast, 86% of new journalists said it was "very important" that journalism educators teach students how to use computers as communication and research tools."
Given the fact that journalism schools are the training grounds for the nation's newsrooms, this message from newsroom recruiters makes it even more difficult for those professors interested in CAJ training to convince their schools to support an aggressive program. But the resounding call from new journalists for training in those skills should support their arguments. Let's look at what is going on:
A. computer-assisted journalism instruction in US journalism schools is: The foundation of department-wide re-examination of the journalism curriculum.
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunications at Arizona State University received a huge grant from the Knight Foundation to build up their CAJ program. They hired veteran computer-assisted reporting editor, Stephen Doig, away from the Miami Herald to lead a concentration in CAJ skills training.
Even at schools not getting a surfeit of funds to build CAJ programs, there are committees and work groups developing new approaches to the training needs of a new generation of journalists. While the cornerstone of the computer skills training at schools offering anything still tends to be a single course on computer-assisted reporting, there is a move to stop marginalizing computer-assisted reporting techniques into one course (usually optional) and to weave these techniques into all the reporting courses. Those professors pushing for increased training in CAJ understand the need for students to learn how the techniques can be applied to a number of journalism areas.
The courses being offered at schools with this type of training generally cover the Internet, database software, numeracy (numerical literacy), ethical issues, searching techniques. Some focus more on the technical skills, others on the analytical skills required in computer-assisted reporting. You can look at some of the syllabi for CAJ courses from the following schools at:
- New York University
The syllabus and course material for John Garcia's CAJ course. It is a basic textbook of CAJ techniques.
- University of Texas
"The course focuses on using computers to gather and analyze information for news stories. Students learn to do on-line research, accessing the Internet, computer bulletin boards and commercial information services; and to "crunch numbers" -- scrutinizing databases on demographics, crime and other topics. Syllabus, calendar, lecture notes, assignments, student work, and links to related materials."
B. computer-assisted journalism instruction in US journalism schools is: Desirable, but there are just too many hurdles to getting a program started.
The hurdles to providing a full program of training in CAJ are numerous: the teachers don't have the skills themselves, computer labs are inadequate, funding for resources is insufficient. And, as one professor stated, "We have so few hours with them to teach the basics, how can we find time to do this extra training." That states nicely the main hurdle for journalism schools, seeing that computer skills ARE becoming basic needs for journalists.
The professors at schools facing these technological, funding or philosophical hurdles are finding ways to move forward. They are looking for alliances with other departments at their schools which might have computer facilities available. They are providing training to other faculty members to increase understanding of computer use in reporting. They are seeking specific grants from local businesses or media to purchase equipment. They are finding statistics that show the offering of computer courses increases the number of applications to a school's program. With the right advocate, most of these hurdles can be leaped.
C. computer-assisted journalism instruction in US journalism schools is: Largely ignored, it isn't considered fundamental to the training and education of journalism students.
Often, the advocate for CAJ is a lower-level professor, one without the clout or power to advance a major shift in the curriculum's focus. University politics, inter-departmental jealousies and the fight for insufficient resources makes this even more difficult. When combined with a feeling that computer skills are merely diversions from the "real work" of journalism education, introduction of a new course on CAJ is almost impossible. This is, unfortunately, still the case in many universities (as the statistic that only 34% of schools require computer skills training shows).
At universities facing this sort of attitude, the CAJ advocate must find ways to make the focus of the training not be a particular technical skill or the mechanics of using a specific software program, but a holistic look at how the techniques of CAJ can serve those basic journalistic responsibilities of truth-telling, and credible and compelling reporting. This scenario, where CAJ skills are largely ignored, will change only when the "old-style" journalism school comes to understand, and be comfortable with, computer skills training as a supplement, not a replacement, of basic journalistic skills training.
In conclusion, there are some schools in the U.S. where CAJ has become a major selling point of their program to students, offering state of the art facilities and excited, innovative instructors. There are other schools where the lack of resources, and advocates for the program have made CAJ training untenable. But the growth of the Internet's invaluable journalistic resources, and the increased understanding that, without computer skills journalists may simply not have access to the information they need, is making most schools figure out ways to overcome the hurdles and move forward.
This article was originally written for Sage & Schreibe, a German journalism publication. It appeared in the August, 1996 issue.
