 "Photo: Callie Richmond")
The uncertain future of the media industry is leading to a wave of change in the UT School of Journalism.
The industry is in flux right now, and even industry professionals do not know how journalism will change in the next five to 10 years, said Tracy Dahlby, director of the School of Journalism.
Journalism schools around the country are advancing curricula in the field of online journalism. UT has a multimedia concentration for journalism majors that evolved three years ago from a temporary online class. The school has hired two new faculty members who specialize in the field, increased the number of study abroad opportunities in the field and created a program in May to educate and mentor college students by way of the ABC News on Campus initiative.
"It's not a matter of who is ahead or behind in the industry of new media," Dahlby said. "It's how you define the challenge."
Dahlby said the school aims to increase all aspects of media literacy so students can become better citizens by knowing the significance of journalism in society. To prepare students to be productive and thoughtful citizens, educators should emphasize job-oriented skills as well as focus on the social and cultural importance of news outlets, he said.
George Sylvie, an associate journalism professor and head of the multimedia journalism department, said that as educators, he and his colleagues attempt to help students become employable and educate them for life by arming them with solid reporting and journalistic skills.
"We turn out bright and intelligent people," Sylvie said. "Part is, yes, meeting the needs of the industry, but the students must know how to gather information for the story. All those things have to be balanced, and that's what we as faculty strive to do."
Sylvie has been department head for three years and said he has seen the multimedia department develop from a class to a sequence and separate department within the journalism school.
Journalism students are now required to take an introductory multimedia course along with other basic requirements.
Both Dahlby and Sylvie said the journalism school aims to educate students on all aspects of their professional field, so if they write for an online publication, blog or alternate media outlet, they will display strong writing and professional skills.
"What we're talking about is the future of journalism and the industry. This is a big topic," Dahlby said. "News operations today want multifaceted people, and we want to produce them at UT."
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