KEY POINTS:
The convergence of Web 2.0 technologies is rapidly making its way into more traditional forms of media such as print and TV. This paradigm shift has caught some educational institutions off guard with journalism courses still sticking to the same curriculum that they had ten years ago.
Don Dodge from the Microsoft Startup Zone claims that blogs are going professional and replacing newspapers for insightful, fast breaking, news and analysis.
In America there are 25 per cent less traditional journalists then there were ten years ago and this is blamed on the convergence of Web 2.0. We also see that there is an evolving relationship between the press and the public where people see blogs, news groups and forums as a reliable source of information rather than the traditional forms of media.
More than 60 per cent of journalism schools in America have made significant changes to their curriculum in order to keep up with the changing landscape.
Martin Hirst is the Curriculum Leader and Associate Professor of Journalism at the Auckland University of Technology and is in charge of equipping the next generation of journalists in New Zealand. Martin is in the process of redesigning the curriculum for AUT's postgraduate and undergraduate journalism courses to reflect the shifting nature of the industry.
"Convergence in digital technologies the blending of computing, telephony and screen-based media devices is something we can't ignore," Hirst says.
The journalism curriculum at AUT is moving away from what Hirst calls the old "silo approach", where print, radio, TV and online are taught as discreet disciplines. He says this reflects what's happening internationally, but that the future shape of the curriculum is not yet set in stone.
"Globally things are moving very quickly, but there is no 'one size fits all' solution. I am very conscious of involving AUT's journalism staff in these debates and we're being guided by what the top j-schools internationally are doing."
However, Hirst says that AUT will not be rushing into uncharted waters. He says that after watching the debate in the United States and the UK in particular, it is clear that there are strong differences of opinion.
"Some schools favour a full-on technological approach chasing the latest fads, hardware and software - but our approach is a bit more cautious."
Hirst says it is important not to throw-out the baby with the bath water. He sees it as essential that the key components of a strong journalism curriculum are retained.
"We cannot afford to abandon the central and essential aspects of what journalism is today. Fact-checking, good interview skills, strong writing ability and that all-important intellectual ingredient; curiosity."
- StartUp
