Robin Blom

Searching for the Core of Journalism Education Program Directors Disagree on Curriculum Priorities

To carry out their mission of preparing students to be successful journalism professionals, educators make important decisions on the core curriculum: the common courses that all journalism students must take to graduate, no matter their area of emphasis or academic constraints. This national study of U.S. journalism program directors shows they agreed that training in writing and reporting is still considered the bedrock of journalism and that knowledge about visual communication has become an increasing priority. After that, however, these respondents disagreed on which specific courses take precedence for all journalism students. The authors offer several hypothetical models of core curricula.

Reputation Cycles: The Value of Accreditation for Undergraduate Journalism Programs

Accreditation is among various outside influences when developing an ideal journalism curriculum. The value of journalism accreditation standards for undergraduate programs has been studied and is still debated. This study discovers views of opinion leaders in U.S. journalism programs, as surveyed program directors give reasons for being accredited or not. The most important reason for schools with, or obtaining, accreditation is reputation enhancement. But many directors question accreditation’s value. Some perceive the cap on journalism credits that students can take as a limitation of student development and a hindrance to responding to increasing media industry convergence.