GIven to the "Shaping the Future of News Media: The International Conference on Integrated Journalism Education, Research and Innovation" Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, June 17-19, 2015. Presentation begins with a description of coverage of the Ferguson protests in the US; and then applies observations of the coverage to issues in journalism education.

1. Convergence and Divergence in
Journalism Education
Donica Mensing
Associate Professor/Academic Chair
Reynolds School of Journalism
University of Nevada, Reno
@donica
Shaping the Future of News Media
The International Conference on Integrated
Journalism Education, Research and Innovation
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona,
June 17-19, 2015

2. PROVOKE
QUESTIONS SPARK IDEAS ENCOURAGE
COLLABORATION
CASE STUDY:
FERGUSON
REFLECTIONS ON
JOURNALISM AND
JOURNALISM
EDUCATION
TODAY’S PRESENTATION

3. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH
WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT THE STATE OF US JOURNALISM TODAY?

4. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH
WHAT MAKES THE NEWS AGENDA?

5. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

6. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

7. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

8. “about 1,100 deaths a year, or three a day”
Federal experts have long acknowledged that [the FBI] estimate is too low, and
a handful of more recent, unofficial reports — online databases compiled and
fact-checked by volunteers — place the toll much higher, at about 1,100 deaths
a year, or three a day. Yet they do not suggest that the pace of police killings or
the racial composition of victims as a group has changed significantly in the last
two years or so.

9. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

10. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

11. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH
HOW IS THE NEWS COVERED?

14. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

15. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

24. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

25. #FERGUSON
FOR QUOTES AND SUCH

33. CONVERGENCE
CONVERGENCE OF JOURNALISTIC ACTORS: CITIZENS AND JOURNALISTS
REPORTING AND PUBLISHING THE SAME EVENT
CONVERGENCE IN THE USE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
CONVERGENCE OF GLOBAL ATTENTION BY INTERNATIONAL NEWS MEDIA
CONVERGENCE OF MEDIA POWER TO DOMINATE PUBLIC ATTENTION OVER
TIME
USE OF CONVERGED MEDIA: TEXT, AUDIO, VIDEO, PHOTOS, GRAPHICS BY
NEWS OUTLETS

34. DIVERGENCE
DIVERGENT PUBLICS, NOW WITH VOICES
DIVERGENT JOURNALISMS, IN PURPOSE AND MISSION
DIVERGENCE IN TRUST AND DISTRUST OF INSTITUTIONS, INC. JOURNALISM
DIVERGENCE IN THE FORMS OF A STORY: LIVE STREAMS, TWEETS, POSTS,
DOCUMENTARIES, MAPS, DATA, MEMORIES, CONVENTIONAL NEWS
DIVERGENCE IN USE OF PLATFORMS: TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM,
PINTEREST, TUMBLR, USTREAM, WEB, PRINT, TV and DIVERGENCE IN USE
OF DEVICES: DESKTOP, TABLET, SMARTPHONE

35. Journalism Education
CONVERGENCE
The challenges we face as
journalism educators
(Deuze, 2006)

36. RESPOND TO
CONVERGENCE
OF
JOURNALISTIC
ACTORS
TEACH
JOURNALISM AS A
HUMAN RIGHT AS
WELL AS A
PROFESSION
PROVIDE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
STUDENTS TO WORK
WITH COMMUNITY
MEMBERS.
DEVELOP
EXERCISES
IN LISTENING,
EMPATHY
DEVELOP
COMPETENCIES IN
COMMUNITY
DYNAMICS

37. RECOGNIZE
DIVERSITY AND
AUTONOMY OF
PUBLICS
EXPERIMENT WITH
HOW TO ENGAGE
PUBLICS/AUDIENCES
PRACTICE
USER DESIGN
THINKING
METHODS
INTERROGATE
ADAPTION OF
PUBLIC
RELATIONS
TECHNIQUES
PURPOSEFULLY
CREATE
ASSIGNMENTS TO
SERVE DIFFERENT
PUBLICS

38. CONVERGENT
USE OF
DIVERGENT
PLATFORMS
TEACH BASIC
LITERACY OF
CURRENT
PLATFORMS
REQUIRE
STUDENTS TO
BECOME
EXPERTS IN AT
LEAST ONE
WE NEED TO BE “PLATFORM DEVOUT”,
NOT JUST PLATFORM AGNOSTIC,
SAYS VIVIAN SCHILLER

39. EXPAND THE
EXPECTATIONS
OF A “STORY”
WHAT BASIC
UNIT OF
JOURNALISM
MIGHT WE
TEACH FIRST?
ENCOURAGE
FACULTY TO
BECOME
EXPERTS IN AT
LEAST ONE NEW
FORM
CREATE METHODS TO DEVELOP,
DESCRIBE, ANALYZE, AND
EVALUATE NEW FORMS
CATEGORIZE NEW FORMS:
NARRATIVE, DATA AND SOCIAL,
FOR EXAMPLE

40. Journalism Education
DIVERGENCE
“The theory-practice division is the most
pervasive issue regarding the content of
journalism education.”
(Nordenstreng, European Journalism Education)

41. Journalism Education
We will never choose theory without
practice, or practice without theory.
Our contribution as academics and
educators is to figure out how to merge
theory and practice effectively.

42. HOW MIGHT WE DO THIS?
APPLY EXPERIMENT COLLABORATE
Incorporate research
generated in
journalism studies
and related fields and
apply it to classroom
work.
Develop support for
experimentation in
the classroom: train
for it, reward it,
evaluate it.
Publish your
assignments and
experiments. Set up
collaborations; share
freely with colleagues.
Set up learning
communities.

43. HOW MIGHT WE DO THIS?
INVEST IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Encourage every faculty member to embody
practice and theory in their work with
students and in their scholarship. Support
these efforts through professional
development, rewards and mentoring.
CHANGE
AHEAD

44. CONTACT
EMAIL: dmensing@unr.edu
TWITTER: @donica
Q A&
TWEET YOUR EXAMPLES: ‪#NewsMediaBCN‪‬
TIME FOR QUESTIONS