By Stephen Lacy
Professor, Department of Communication and School of Journalism, Michigan State University

Digital distribution of information has created concerns about the future of news organizations. Observers have speculated on how the Internet has and will change journalism, with almost as many different conclusions as there are speculators. These concerns have caused journalism educators around the country to reevaluate how they teach journalism.

The Internet is a marvelous tool for the distribution of journalism and for allowing citizen participation in journalism. However, the Internet has had more impact on who participates in journalism than on the quality of journalism. When it comes to the opinion function of journalism, a well-constructed argument remains a well-constructed argument regardless of whether it appears as a blog or a column in a newspaper. In news, citizens continue to expect reporters to meet at least three goals: to provide a summary of important events, to translate complex issues into understandable intelligence, and to dig up and publish information that people in positions of power want to keep hidden. The essence of journalism is that journalists find, create and package information that people want and need. This remains true even in a three-screen, digital world.

If one accepts this proposition, then the role of journalism education is to help students learn how to create the journalism that accomplishes these three goals. To that end, here are some observations. [Read more...]