Ted Spiker, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Florida, teaches Magazine Management, Magazine & Feature Writing, Advanced Magazine & Feature Writing, Finding Your Voice, Journalism as Literature, Health & Fitness Writing, and Applied Magazines—the course that produces the campus magazine, Orange & Blue. Spiker, a contributing editor to Men’s Health magazine, is also a freelance writer who specializes in health and fitness writing.
His work has also been published in Outside; O, The Oprah Magazine; Fortune; Women’s Health; Best Life; Prevention; Runner’s World; Reader’s Digest; Sports Illustrated Women; AARP The Magazine; and more. Spiker is also co-author of about a dozen books, including the national bestselling YOU: The Owner’s Manual series with Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Mike Roizen. Spiker is currently serving as the head of the AEJMC Magazine Division.
How do you define mass communication?
I think anytime we’re sending out messages to a group of people, that’s mass comm. But I tend to make a distinction depending on the audience. I think of mass communication as a form of media that sends a message to an audience that the sender doesn’t necessarily know personally. So to me, the traditional Facebook status updates (as opposed to fan pages) is merely talking to a group of friends electronically, but a Twitter update where you have followers you don’t know, that’s mass communication. The size doesn’t matter as much as the relationship.
How do you keep your students excited about working in the field of communications in light of shrinking job opportunities?
I just heard a great talk by one of our UF alums who has a big role at a major cable network. We talked about this issue and one of the things that came up is that media companies aren’t the only place for journalists and communicators. Every company (big or small) is a media company, and every company needs people who can communicate effectively in all forms, whether it’s telling a story, brand development, or 140-character teases about a message the company wants to send. It may be a changing industry, but I think there are going to be lots of spots for good communicators and good storytellers.
What changes do journalism and mass communication programs need to make in order to stay relevant today?
We need to strike that balance between our traditional principles, but also being able to adapt to new forms of delivery, new kinds of storytelling, and even new ethics. But in this age of unending info, doesn’t it come down to the fact that best content (delivered creatively and compellingly) will win? J-schools should still be teaching those skills—being creative, generating unique ideas, and then figuring out cool ways to deliver on those unique ideas.
If you could save one journalism and mass communication course from extinction, what would it be and why?
We’ve got to keep basic reporting courses because in the era when anyone can publish anything, we’re going to need (and will value) those people who can find good information, no matter the field. But I also think that with the change in media, we’re going to need to change, too. I’ve been lucky enough to teach an elective called Finding your Voice a few times—it’s a non-fiction writing class that tries to help students develop their own style and distinct voice as writers. In this age of blogs, POV and personality, the thing that really makes people stand out—besides good content—is a strong and unique voice. We’re doing this in writing classes anyway, but more and more, this will become a core principle that we’ll use when we teach fundamentals—know the rules, then find ways to twist them upside their head, smack ‘em silly and go back for seconds.
What new media tools or applications do you incorporate in your teaching? Why these in particular?
I’ve had students write blogs for my Health Writing class, and I made students follow me on Twitter (@ProfSpiker) so they can quickly link to appropriate items I think they should read. In my Health Writing class, I’ve also customized the final project—students can pick their medium (print, video, audio), whether it’s an individual or team project, etc… Then I build a grading construct based on the project they want to do. It’s a bit of a challenge to make the grading equitable, but I like that it gives them the flexibility to try and use different storytelling methods and approaches depending on their interests.
What do you see for the future of journalism and mass communication both in general and in higher education?
It seems like we’re in this world of customization—something magazines have been doing for a long time. But since we’re going in the direction of giving our audience the ability to customize everything about what content they get and the way they get it, maybe that’s where we’ll go with higher ed, too. It’ll be a challenge to make one classroom experience different for individual students. And maybe that’s not even the right way to go. While I think we ultimately have to lead our students by giving them what they need, I guess I wonder if we can also help them by giving them a little more of what they want.