Discussing JMC with… David Cuillier

David Cuillier joined the University of Arizona faculty in 2006 specializing in freedom of information after finishing his Ph.D. in Communication at Washington State University. His research has been published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Government Information Quarterly, Journalism, Newspaper Research Journal, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, and he is co-author with Charles N. Davis of The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records (CQ Press, 2010, www.theartofaccess.com).

Cuillier, who was a newspaper reporter and editor for a dozen years in the Pacific Northwest before entering academia, teaches access to government records, public affairs reporting, computer-assisted reporting and other journalism courses. He is the research chair for the AEJMC Law & Policy Division, member of the International Communication Association, and is chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists Freedom of Information Committee. He was awarded the AEJMC Nafziger-White-Salwen Dissertation Award in 2007, is a four-time AEJMC Great Ideas for Teaching (GIFT) scholar, and the Promising Professor Award winner for graduate students in 2004 and for faculty in 2009.

How do you define mass communication?

The short answer: Mass communication is the communication of messages to the masses. The long answer: Mass communication includes a lot — journalism, propaganda, public relations, advertising, speech, twitter, blogs, etc., but sometimes students conflate some of these areas. I come from a journalism background and teach in a School of Journalism that has no public relations, advertising or communication studies tracks. We’re just journalism (print, broadcast, online, or any other medium for that matter). While I certainly respect someone’s decision to go into PR or another field, because those areas play an important role in society, I think we need more of a focus on journalism in college education. A student will think that writing a travel piece about a cruise line while being comped by the cruise line is journalism, when it’s not. Or they think that people yelling at each other on cable news is journalism. Or they think that exploiting celebrities on TMZ is journalism. It’s all mass communication, and it is communicated on journalism-like mediums, but it isn’t journalism.

I will go to the mat and defend to the death, from a First Amendment perspective, for the rights of people to yell, advertise, spin, and publish photos of drunk celebrities, but I don’t call it journalism. We need to make sure students understand that in journalism the first loyalty is to the citizen, not to another entity that may or may not be looking out for citizens’ interests, and that journalists verify information, get as close as they can to the truth, and seek justice and betterment of the societal good. That, in my opinion, is journalism, not mass communication.

How do you keep your students excited about working in the field of communications in light of shrinking job opportunities?

I think this is the most exciting time for journalism in decades. I wish I were an undergraduate student right now. When I started working at newspapers in high school it was during the 1980s as circulations began dropping each year. In every job I had to worry about profit margins and declining readership, scrambling with everyone else on the sinking ship of newspapers. What a bummer of a work environment. Now, young journalists get to be a part of a new era of journalism, starting at the bottom and rising to the top. They can be a part of new investigative non-profit Web sites, create their own community sites, or develop expertise in a region of the world or topical niche. I tell my students that they can be the Hearsts, Pulitzers, or Poynters of the digital age, building online news empires (and ending up rich and quirky, living in their 80s in big empty mansions, repeating “Rosebud, Rosebud…”).

The future of journalism is something to embrace, not fear. It’s like my chair, Jacqueline Sharkey, says: during the transformation from horse and buggies to automobiles we didn’t stop moving. The new technology actually increased travel. Same with new technology. With the Internet and demise of newspapers, we aren’t going to stop gathering, disseminating or consuming news. There is an even greater need for outstanding journalists to help people wade through useless information to find news that is important to them and their communities. But students are going to have to work hard, apply initiative, and be flexible. As long as they remember the key principles and skills of journalism (truth, verification, loyalty to citizens, ethics, etc.), they will do well for themselves and their communities. It’s incredibly exciting.

What changes do journalism and mass communication programs need to make in order to stay relevant today?

I think journalism programs must continue to focus on the basics: aggressively gathering information and communicating it clearly within a framework of holding government accountable, being accurate, and upholding ethics. It’s important to introduce students to technology, but we shouldn’t water down the basics.

If you could save one journalism and mass communication course from extinction, what would it be and why?

Wow. This is tough! I would like to say courses on media law, ethics, or accessing public records (if that is taught much at all), but I think the most important course is a strong introductory course focusing on principles of journalism: The “why” of what we do, and the elements of journalism (well articulated by the book of the same name by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel). Students need an overview of the history, purpose, and importance of journalism as a check on government and champion for justice and human betterment. I’m not talking indoctrination, but rather understanding the core principles of journalism, particularly the watchdog role in society and democratic self-governance, at a time when forces would use mass communication to subvert democracy and human rights for their own power or profits.

While skills courses are important in a college curriculum, students can pick those up through internships, student media, and their jobs, just as journalists traditionally have done for decades — by doing. But if there’s one thing we can do that the real world can’t for young people, it’s conveying the meaning and importance of journalism. Without that, our students are merely effective communicators who are a little better at grammar than their peers and know how to use Final Cut Pro. They might actually do more harm than good if they allow themselves to be used as tools against the public interest. Let me take a quote from Edward R. Murrow and tweak it a little for what we do as educators:

“These young journalists can teach, they can illuminate; yes, they can even inspire. But they can do so only to the extent that they are determined to use their skills to those ends. Otherwise they are merely wires and lights in a computer monitor or handheld device. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon – a dedicated young watchdog journalist – could be useful.”

What new media tools or applications do you incorporate in your teaching? Why these in particular?

I try to incorporate the basics of new media tools, such as photo slide shows (e.g., Soundslides, Audacity) and data analysis software for my computer-assisted reporting course (Excel, Access, open-source software to post data online and map it, etc.). The knowledge helps students bolster their resumes and get used to what they are going to have to deal with on the job, telling stories in the most effective way possible. Also, we have a required course in multimedia for all majors, like a lot of schools, covering Final Cut Pro, video, audio capture, etc. However, I tell students they are probably going to have to learn other tools and continuously learn new software as they go along. They have to learn how to learn, and we can’t teach all the software or technology in four years.

If you could offer a piece of advice to both your fellow educators and media professionals in the field, what would it be?

Shoot, I don’t have wisdom for others, and I’ve already expressed my thoughts about journalism education. But I would hope that educators and professionals would not lose hope. It’s pretty depressing out there – everyone is moping around because of the industry’s economic problems. People need to remember that what we do is crucial for society. Be proud!

What do you see for the future of journalism and mass communication both in general and in higher education?

I think there will always be a future in journalism and mass communication because it is so important. I think people realize now that blogs and citizen journalists will not replace journalists. They play a role, but we need people who are skilled at gathering, analyzing, and communicating information that is important for citizens, and people who can keep an eye on government. If journalists won’t do it, who will?