FAU School of Communication and Multimedia Studies (Florida Atlantic University SCMS)’s Post

"No doom, only hope." That's what I called my keynote at NASH 86, Canadian University Press's annual conference for student journalists, which took place last weekend at NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology). When I express optimism about the future of journalism, it's not because I'm unaware of all of the job cuts and headwinds buffeting the industry; it's because I see so much passion, intelligence, and creativity among the young people still drawn to the craft. And I know there's a growing number of outlets -- Taproot Edmonton and our fellow members of LION: Local Independent Online News Publishers among them -- that will happily put those talents to use. Because I have been around for a long time, I also know a million things will happen that we can't even imagine right now. When I was editor-in-chief of The Gateway in 1992, we didn't even have email. I certainly had no idea I'd end up co-founding an online media outlet (I wouldn't have even known what that was). I hope the students I spoke to take me up on my suggestion to subscribe to The Media Copilot from fellow Gateway alumnus Pete Pachal to get a sense of the next great changes to come. But even Pete can't see the whole future; the only thing to do is to be ready to adapt to whatever comes. The good news is that today's student journalists have had to adapt to so much more change so much faster than we did back in the day. That experience -- more than writing or editing or designing or any of the hard skills they're learning right now -- is what is going to help them most in the future. Many thanks to Amy St. Amand for inviting me to speak, and to the NAIT Nugget crew for putting on a great conference. Shout-out to The Griff at MacEwan University for co-winning Publication of the Year with The Western Gazette. And fingers crossed for The Gateway at the University of Alberta, which is facing an important referendum on its funding. Here's a bit more from me on why I think they're so important: https://lnkd.in/gkX5vi2B #yegmedia #nash86 #futureofmedia

The Mind of a Journalist >> https://zurl.co/sCtP Journalism plays a vital role in our society, informing the public and holding those in power accountable. For children who show an early interest in this field, nurturing their natural abilities and developing key skills can set them on a path to a rewarding career in journalism . This article explores the characteristic traits, skills, and abilities that make children well-suited for a future in journalism, and how parents and educators can support their aspirations. #YoungJournalists #JournalismCareer #NurturingTalent #FutureOfJournalism #Media #StudentJournalism #JournalismEducation #CareerGuidance #StudentJournalists #MediaStudies #YoungJournalists #CareerAspirations #ParentingTips #TeacherResources #Journalism #Journalist #MediaCareer #CareerinMedia

Crises ask journalism educators, students and practitioners to grapple with sharing stories about what the future could hold. What will journalists’ jobs look like in five years? Or 25 years? No one in any industry would be able to answer such questions with certainty. But critical events in journalism demand we talk through uncertain futures. And this presents follow-up questions. What are the risks and rewards of talking openly about precarity? How do you start a conversation when the future is so uncertain?

The Mind of a Journalist >> https://zurl.co/sCtP Journalism plays a vital role in our society, informing the public and holding those in power accountable. For children who show an early interest in this field, nurturing their natural abilities and developing key skills can set them on a path to a rewarding career in journalism . This article explores the characteristic traits, skills, and abilities that make children well-suited for a future in journalism, and how parents and educators can support their aspirations. #YoungJournalists #JournalismCareer #NurturingTalent #FutureOfJournalism #Media #StudentJournalism #JournalismEducation #CareerGuidance #StudentJournalists #MediaStudies #YoungJournalists #CareerAspirations #ParentingTips #TeacherResources #Journalism #Journalist #MediaCareer #CareerinMedia

Journalism is a high-pressure profession, and the responsibility of delivering top-quality reporting can sometimes weigh heavily on journalists. This is why awareness around mental well-being in the field is steadily growing. Our Laureate Elena Ledda talks about the topic, interviewed by iMEdD - incubator for Media Education and Development during their International Journalism Forum. #mentalhealth #journalism #europeanpressprize

I did a thing! My first #research article has been published in the #AfricanJournalismStudies journal, and it is #openaccess so free to read for all. In it, I looked into the effect the Covid-19 pandemic had on journalism student's prospects and discussed how this shift should inform journalism educators and practitioners alike. 📖 Reimagining Through Crisis: How the Covid-19 Pandemic Changed the Fortunes and Futures of Journalism Schools and Graduates

Fair and transparent reporting, access to local and national education data and trends, and a commitment to holding schools and stakeholders accountable - all without a paywall - have put Idaho EdNews on the map as a leader in local journalism. https://lnkd.in/gU4hDC8d

In many "news deserts" and even in communities that have a legacy news publication, it's often the high school or college paper that keeps the local pulse alive — and these 22-and-under reporters also often highlight community issues, policies, gaps and success stories that might otherwise be missed. That's why I was so delighted to talk with Chatwan Mongkol last week — he's a journalism grad student who's originated an innovative niche "collegiate scholastic journalism beat." In our conversation, he noted that student journalists are hungry for community — there isn't much of a central space for that journalistic community to find itself and connect. He's been trying to help create that space. He keeps up with the stories, reporters and issues in university news rooms. His backstory is entrepreneurial: he began "The Nutgraf” a year ago in fall 2023 as a weekly newsletter on Substack. Since then, he's expanded to include interviews with college journalists, panel discussions and more. For me, he's become a source to catch up with college scholastic journalism. In the past months he's reported on: college newsrooms covering the election; censorship attempts at college publications; Native student journalists and the challenges they face; and even a list of potential story ideas for college newsrooms based on coverage he was seeing across the country in college sites. Chatwan also spoke to the lack of attention that journalism majors and entrepreneurial journalism students from non-Ivy, non "big name" universities get from media recruiters and journalism resources orgs. Going to suggest that the college student who's got the energy and pluck to try to build an entrepreneurial reporting practice at a not-as-well-known school might be a person that news businesses should be reaching. Going to suggest that we need ALL of the passionate 20-somethings who want to work in journalism from ALL of the campuses. Going to suggest with THE VOLUME TURNED UP that media recruiters and leaders reading this might want to *ask* someone like Chatwan for ideas and strategies to find and recruit talented journalists (like him!) in a time when we need a whole lot more of them.

I just started reading "Community-Powered Journalism: A manual for sustainability and growth in independent news", a 2020 book from Mark Lee Hunter and Kevin Davis. I only read the introduction so far but I've been nodding all along because every sentence deeply resonated with what I've been exploring this year with my #NewsAlchemists fellowship project. Below two of the best lines I found so far but I really encourage everyone to read the whole thing: https://lnkd.in/d4V2Teek ❝ We ask: Is there a media business approach that is not primarily focused on the needs and wants of an advertiser, a funder or the journalists in the newsroom, but instead aims to meet the needs of all the individuals within the community served? Assuming there is, how does a news enterprise capture some of the value created for that community?❞ ❝ We will have to win back our customers, one by one, and bind ourselves to their communities and destinies in ways we rarely did before. Instead of fighting for our own prosperity, we will be fighting for theirs. We are expected to make their lives better every day, and we will have to show them how we do so. We will be asking not only for their attention, but for their material, social and emotional support.❞

Investigative journalists Madeleine Baran, Robin McDowell and Alysia Santo shared with us Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism students about deeply reported investigations on social justice, stories that have taken years to work on. A lot of my journalistic beat preferences have evolved since coming here (I still love culture journalism though), investigative journalism has to be one of the top 3, so you can imagine my excitement for this session. #investigativejournalism #journalism #investigation