Challenges and emergent practices in the teaching of multimedia journalism in Puerto Rico
Abstract
Innovations in the 21st century journalistic ecosystem have affected both professional practice and the academic curricula shaping future journalists. Through a survey method, this study, the first of its kind in Puerto Rico, looks at how universities have addressed transformations in the field, what emergent practices they have adopted, what challenges they face, what teacher profile makes up their faculties, and how this profile helps define the predominant academic or professional culture in educational institutions. The survey was sent to the directors of all academic and teaching programs dedicated to journalism throughout the country. Via a descriptive analysis, this research found that these programs have adopted a multidisciplinary approach —they study separately print, audiovisual, and cybernetic—, and have transformed most courses in order to incorporate multimedia content. Emergent practices are limited to the purchasing of equipment, although, according to respondents, the lack of technological equipment remains an obstacle in the teaching-learning process, an observation that coincides with other Latin American studies. The professors position themselves within a professional culture: they have a master’s degree, work experience and journalistic work rather than research. Those with a doctorate degree have a firmer grasp of research, creative work, and professional experience than those with a master’s; meanwhile, women exhibit less education and teaching experience, and do more part-time work than men. Journalism teachers, as befits their professional profile, are comfortable with technological innovations and understand that multimedia education does not make the teaching-learning process more difficult. The challenges they face have less to do with the transformations brought about by the multimedia-digital paradigm and more to do with the fact that students have still to master essential journalism skills (e. g., writing, critical thinking, etc.)
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