Mass Communication Research APA 2009 News Release "What Do You Think Journalism Graduates Know?"

Arkansas Press Association

By Ronald W. Sitton, John Cary and Roger Hall

   A recent survey sponsored by the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation and the Arkansas Press Association found generational differences among educators and print journalism professionals when examining what graduating journalists should know when entering a "converging" profession.
 

Respondents answered 18 questions assessing the importance of a journalism graduate's training prior to hiring on a scale of one-to-10, where one was not important at all and 10 was extremely important. Importance of Graduate's Training % Rated 6-10 % Rated 10 "Very Important" Professionalism 100 71 Basic interviewing skills 99 63 Ability to cover array of stories 99 38 News writing skills 98 62 Knowledge of journalism ethics 97 60 Practical experience 97 53 Knowledge of journalism law 94 43 Basic Internet skills 91 Knowledge of AP style 90 30 Photography skills 88   Knowledge of writing software 85 Knowledge of design software 85 Knowledge of media convergence 81 Advanced Internet skills 72 Digital photo manipulation skills 71 Video skills 68   Video editing skills 68   Knowledge of journalism theory 63

   Those with less than 15 years in the profession placed more importance on media technology courses, time management skills, student publications experience and knowledge of writing software than respondents who had been working in the profession for 15 years or more. Yet compared to their younger counterparts, more experienced respondents believe new hires will continue to learn journalism ethics and theory outside of the classroom.

   Everyone agreed on the importance of aspiring print journalists having professionalism i.e. being courteous and punctual while meeting deadlines as 100 percent rated it six or higher on a 10-point scale. Though not in perfect agreement, more than two-thirds said it was important for an applicant to have interviewing, news writing, photography, video and video editing skills; knowledge of journalism ethics and law, AP style, writing and design software, basic and advanced Internet skills, and media convergence; the ability to cover an array of stories and practical experience. Of note, educators placed more importance than professionals on the topics of ethics, law and AP style.

   With more than three-quarters of the respondents rating the items as six or more on a 10-point scale, additional factors deemed important for a new applicant include time-management skills, a portfolio, experience on student or non-student publications, knowledge of current events, national figures and politicians covered by the publication, exposure to a multi-cultural environment and grade point average. Educators placed more importance than professionals on portfolios and experience on student or non-student publications.

   Three-quarters or more of the respondents rated the following courses important for journalism programs: News Reporting, Journalism Ethics, Editing, Journalism Law, Public Affairs Reporting, Media Technology, Introduction to Digital Publishing, Photojournalism, Internships, Introduction to Journalism, Journalism History and Introduction to Mass Communication. Only 28 percent rated Yearbook as important, with 19 percent claiming its not important at all. Educators also rated Internships higher (9.45) than journalist professionals (7.8) on the 10-point scale.

 

Respondents answered 17 questions assessing the importance of courses taken by journalism students on a 10-point scale, where one was not important at all and 10 was very important.    Important Classes % Rated 6-10 % Rated 10 "Very Important" News Reporting 98 80 Journalism Ethics 97 70 Editing 96 70 Journalism Law 95 54 Public Affairs Reporting 93 45 Media Technology 91 40 Intro to Digital Publishing 88 31 Photojournalism 86 Internship 85 53 Introduction to Journalism 84 38 Journalism History 77 Intro to Mass Communication 75 Literary Journalism 64 Advertising 58 Public Relations 57 Yearbook 28 ** **19 percent said "not important at all"

   Even though they obtain a degree, aspiring journalists shouldnt expect to know it all. The highest-rated strengths of graduates hired within the last two years included knowledge of writing software and professionalism; the lowest-rated weakness included knowledge of journalism theory, video skills and video editing skills.

   More than two-thirds of respondents expected print journalists to receive additional training in practical experience, ethics, covering an array of stories, basic Internet skills, design software, digital photo manipulation and news writing. More professionals than educators expected additional training in news writing, basic interviewing and software writing.

   Made possible by a grant from the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation, the APA's Education Committee chaired by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Frank Fellone used a collaboration of researchers from the University of Arkansas at Monticello's Department of Communication, Southern Arkansas University's Department of Theatre & Mass Communication and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Department of Information Science to conduct the survey.

   The e-mail survey queried 95 of 244 Arkansas journalism professionals and educators contacted May 10-26. The respondents included 32 percent of the 130 professionals and 37 percent of the 114 educators contacted. Professional journalists included publishers, editors, managing editors, section editors or others who made hiring decisions for the publication. Their e-mail addresses came from the APA's media directory and e-mail list.

   Journalism educators included professors, assistant professors, associate professors, instructors and advisers chosen from the Arkansas College Media Association's listserv and Web sites of the following colleges and universities: Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, Christian Brothers College, Harding University, Henderson State University, Hendrix College, John Brown University, Lyon College, Ouachita Baptist University, Southern Arkansas University, University of Arkansas (Fayetteville), University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Arkansas at Monticello, University of Central Arkansas, University of the Ozarks and Williams Baptist College.

   Respondents chose to take the survey after three e-mail prompts; the final prompt gave them a "last chance." When respondents clicked the link, they continued to the survey. Sampling error is +/- 5 percent at a confidence level of 95 percent. The error rate for smaller samples may be even larger than the 5 percent overall error rate for the entire sample.

   The authors presented this research July 10 at the APA's Super-convention in Rogers, Ark. A copy of the survey containing the actual question wording can be obtained at http://www.uamont.edu/facultyweb/sitton/crz/mrea/cbs09.html. A breakdown of the descriptive statistics to each question can be found at http://www.uamont.edu/facultyweb/sitton/crz/mrea/dscrptvs09.html.

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