<\/p>\n

\u25cf Journalism education is considered no longer relevant to the dynamics of industrial needs and developments in digital technology.<\/p>\n

\u25cf Changes in technology, professions, and production processes require journalists to remain critical.<\/p>\n

\u25cf Journalism education must continue to instill idealism, public awareness, and ethical awareness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The discourse about\u00a0journalism education being no longer relevant<\/a>\u00a0on campuses\u2014including in Indonesia\u2014with the needs and developments\u00a0of technology<\/a>\u00a0and industry is increasingly prominent.<\/p>\n

Universities are seen as teaching\u00a0outdated journalism practices. These practices negate the digital environment, which is synonymous with speed, engaging content, brevity, and cross- <\/a>platform<\/em>\u00a0shareability\u00a0on social media.<\/p>\n

Journalism education currently faces the challenge of producing a ready-to-use workforce. This is consistent with\u00a0program accreditation<\/a>\u00a0mechanisms , which are always linked to graduates’ ability to be absorbed by industry and employer perceptions of their performance.<\/p>\n

However, as media and journalism educators, we believe that journalism education should produce graduates who add color to the media.<\/p>\n

The hope is that education can restore the essence of journalism to what the public needs to know, not just what they want to know. This is especially true in an industry that is increasingly capitalist and often detrimental to the\u00a0public<\/a>\u00a0interest .<\/p>\n

Challenges of journalism education<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To remain relevant to the challenges of digital media, journalism education curricula need to consider three key issues: technology, profession, and production.<\/p>\n

1. Technological challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

The practice of journalism is facing what is called the \u201cmedia twilight\u201d. This began with\u00a0the closure of print media<\/a>\u00a0and the shift to\u00a0online<\/em>\u00a0media .<\/p>\n

This is inextricably linked to\u00a0the low<\/a>\u00a0readability of news content.\u00a0The decline of the conventional broadcasting industry<\/a>\u00a0was marked by the closure of several television stations, followed by\u00a0mass\u00a0layoffs .<\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, various social media products are showing rapid growth, for example, the\u00a0mushrooming number\u00a0of podcasts . The presence of social media platforms like <\/a>TikTok<\/a>\u00a0and YouTube has also given rise to new journalism products, such as\u00a0podcast<\/em>\u00a0journalism,\u00a0mobile journalism<\/em>\u00a0, and others.<\/p>\n

Social media also makes journalism more personal. Media outlets must interact with their audiences through comment sections, respond to\u00a0audience\u00a0pressure<\/em><\/a>\u00a0, and employ gimmicks<\/em>\u00a0to stay in the public’s mind. This can include\u00a0giveaways<\/em>\u00a0or other efforts to maintain closeness and interactivity.<\/p>\n

This form of journalism that has become very personal shows how\u00a0emotions<\/a>\u00a0, informality, and digital intimacy can redefine and reduce the practice and perception of journalism in the digital era.<\/p>\n

This encourages every\u00a0newsroom<\/em>\u00a0to produce sensational or emotionally charged stories. Instead of being\u00a0watchdogs<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0a democracy<\/a>\u00a0, journalists are reduced to digital\u00a0influencers<\/em>\u00a0in a labor ecosystem vulnerable to exploitation. Journalists thus become part of\u00a0the labor precariat<\/a><\/em>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

2. Professional challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the internet era,\u00a0journalists were considered the sole source and shaper of information<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

After the birth of the internet and social media, journalists lost their privilege as informants, rivaled by the presence of\u00a0citizen journalism<\/em><\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

This democratization of media has given rise to a new profession: content creator, often considered synonymous with journalist. In fact,\u00a0editorial positions<\/a>\u00a0actually require more content creators or\u00a0video creators<\/em>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

Journalists are not content creators. This is because content creators don’t operate with\u00a0the mindset<\/em>\u00a0, basic concepts, and ethics of journalists, which encompass\u00a0ethical, skillful, and critical<\/a>\u00a0aspects .\u00a0The parameters of a content creator<\/em><\/a>\u00a0are\u00a0engagement<\/em>\u00a0, not depth of information.<\/p>\n

Content creators prioritize virality, while journalists should generate resonance that stimulates critical discourse.<\/p>\n

Content creators care about content that generates positive sentiment and\u00a0clicks<\/em>\u00a0. Journalists, on the other hand, are less concerned with\u00a0clicks<\/em><\/a>\u00a0because they’re primarily concerned with the public interest.<\/p>\n

The advent of visual-based social media has also pushed journalists toward a performance-oriented approach.\u00a0Live<\/em><\/a>\u00a0broadcasts on social media require journalists to be skilled presenters, creators of engaging content, and to maintain their legitimacy as journalists to ensure the credibility of the information they convey.<\/p>\n

The media is “required” to prefer\u00a0bylines<\/em><\/a>\u00a0to newsreaders. Because they constantly emphasize their physical appearance, they become like celebrities. Consequently, journalists must be attractive, have a\u00a0following<\/em>\u00a0, and be a presence that attracts public attention.<\/p>\n

3. Production challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

The presence of technology that produces\u00a0big data<\/a>\u00a0analysis ,\u00a0<\/em>AI<\/a>\u00a0and various similar facilities makes the work of journalists easier.<\/p>\n

The presence of social media and its derivatives has also made the gradual, tiered and formal\u00a0newsroom<\/em><\/a> production process change to become shorter and shorter<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

The simplicity of the process of producing information and news through social media has made populism increasingly flourish, as politicians would rather speak on\u00a0podcasts<\/em>\u00a0than go through the complicated procedures of appearing in conventional news media.<\/p>\n

In addition, the decline\u00a0in readers and subscribers<\/em><\/a>\u00a0means media companies have to adapt to their audience’s style.<\/p>\n

A 2018 Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0analysis\u00a0showed that the global Gen Z population had overtaken millennials.\u00a0The 2024\u00a0Indonesia Gen Z Report also indicated that Generation Z is the largest group after millennials.<\/a><\/p>\n

This means that the majority of the young audience consumes\u00a0information through social media,<\/a>\u00a0not print, electronic, or\u00a0online<\/em>\u00a0media .<\/p>\n

The audience itself<\/a>\u00a0is the agent of information decentralization because it is able to produce and disseminate information through various\u00a0private social media\u00a0platforms .<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, many “media outlets” emerged that no longer grew through formal journalistic organizations. These outlets were founded by individuals producing information who then formalized their\u00a0channels<\/em>\u00a0into media outlets. For example, building\u00a0a media institution<\/a>\u00a0using the\u00a0subscriber<\/em>\u00a0base they had accumulated on\u00a0a YouTube channel<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

Relevant journalism education<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the context of journalism education, universities need to think about how to transfer knowledge to students about the ideals of journalism that do not have to be dissolved by industrial logic.<\/p>\n

Journalism students should be aware that many groups are marginalized by\u00a0the media<\/a>\u00a0, issues are never touched upon because they are not in line with\u00a0the algorithm<\/a>\u00a0, or writing is shallow to be\u00a0SEO<\/a>\u00a0friendly .<\/p>\n

They must also understand that journalists need to be protected not only physically but also ideologically. The presence of\u00a0social media<\/a>\u00a0in the digital environment can sometimes\u00a0be counterproductive<\/a>\u00a0to these essential elements.<\/p>\n

Of course, the debate about how journalism curricula should be developed on campuses will never be resolved.<\/p>\n

However, the realization that there are many gray areas present, can be a wake-up call for all that producing journalists who are aware of the essence is far more important than simply meeting industry expectations.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Yustitia’s Twilight is a Lecturer and Firly Annisa is Associate Professor both at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u25cf Journalism education is considered no longer relevant to the dynamics of industrial needs and developments in digital technology. \u25cf Changes in technology, professions, and production processes require journalists to remain critical. \u25cf Journalism education must continue to instill idealism, public awareness, and ethical awareness. The discourse about\u00a0journalism education being no longer relevant\u00a0on campuses\u2014including in […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[434913],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-77698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-journalism-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n