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Journalism students must bridge ‘digital divide 2.0′ to become less old-school

avatar by Published July 12, 2011 11:10 am Updated July 12, 2011 11:11 am

MediaShift
Assistant professors Alexa Capeloto and Devin Harner say young journalism students ”know how to act the part of digital natives,” but “they’re inclined to see the Internet as a tool for entertainment and socializing, rather than as an information source.” This strains the conventional wisdom that young journalists are the most progressive, and raises questions about what journalism schools should be teaching. ”A few students said that they didn’t see blogs as journalism, because anyone could do them,” the professors wrote. “They were in class to learn about reporting and writing — capital-J Journalism — and not to repeat what they already do on their own time.” || Related: Why you want to go to college: In 140 characters or less

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  • Anonymous

    Maybe the teachers should listen a bit to their students, whose careers and financial futures are at stake. The authors state, “Not having the Internet at home — or perhaps having parents who don’t possess the time or means to demonstrate the web’s legitimate capabilities — pushes some students even further back in the march toward careers in journalism.” I disagree. Students can become first-rate journalists if they don’t know much about technology, but it might be tough to succeed if they know little about the world and current events. And the best way to keep up on things is not by spending time on Facebook or Twitter but by reading a good newspaper. My kids and I skim the front page and sports pages every morning. They love it and learn a lot. We try to get the same experience on-line, without much luck.

  • Anonymous

    My own experience is that students come to
    class knowing how to blog and Tweet but they know little about reporting
    and writing well. Journalism is a craft, and students are wise to learn the basics in school. If they learn the traditional capital-J skills in school, they will get hired to create quality content. The technological skills are the easy part.