Prof. Tom Dickson, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield
Abstract
The assumption among print journalism educators in the United States seems to be that graduates who take newspaper jobs likely will begin at a small daily, so-called community journalism, and that young journalists will move on to higher-paying jobs in larger markets as they hone their skills. Thus, a major point in the debate among journalism educators has been whether students should be prepared only for these entry-level jobs or also for future advancement in the field.
Journalism educators, however, also insist that they need to do more than prepare graduates for newspaper careers. For example, the Curriculum Task Force of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which I co-chaired, proposed five objectives for media education: (1) to provide students the competencies they need for successful careers in media-related professions; (2) to educate nonmajors about the role of the media in society; (3) to prepare students to become teachers or to undertake graduate education; (4) to prepare liberally educated graduates to become media analysts and critics; and (5) to provide mid-career education for media professionals (AEJMC Curriculum Task Force, 1996, p. 106).
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