Tired of Being Self-Taught

Note: This post also appeared at Tomorrow’s News, Tomorrow’s Journalists, a new blog ring for young journalists that I am participating in.

When I was somewhere around the age of 13, I created my first Web site and quickly learned the ways of basic HTML. In the past 10 years, the web has changed dramatically and I have been unable to keep up with all the changes. It’s moved toward not just being text-based, but video and audio-based. I’ve had to learn, little by little, how to use programs such as Frontpage and Audacity. However, there’s a ridiculous amount I have not learned and my time at Penn State has not helped much.

The journalism program at Penn State has only recently added a ‘Convergence Journalism’ class, where students can learn to shoot and edit video as well as audio. It’s a class i will be taking in the spring, along with the only web design class I could find, oddly enough under ‘Arts.’ In that class, I will learn XHTML.

I received an email last week about a new six-week course called ‘Webcast Production,’ where I could learn how to set up and produce a live Webcast. So why didn’t I rush to sign up for the course? It is meant for broadcast communications majors and has two requirements, one of which is the base level course called ‘Cinema Art.’ The description for that course — “The development of cinema to its present state; principles of evaluation and appreciation.” That totally sounds like something I need in order to understand how to make a Webcast!

Journalism and newspapers have been moving online for years and we can no longer make the distinction between skills needed for print versus skills needed for broadcast or radio journalism. We need and deserve to be better prepared for the industry we will enter. By providing more integrated courses, allowing students to become proficient in programs from Quark to InDesign to Final Cut, universities could raise the bar and provide their students with better skills, and ultimately, job opportunities.