There is perhaps no more visible and complex topic right now than sexual assault and harassment. Sparked by the #MeToo movement, conversations about gender and sexual abuse are commonplace as media headlines continually bring awareness to these issues.

For journalism educators, discussions in classrooms have become more pointed, while courses that teach reporting see the need to address questions of coverage about such intense issues.

In recent EducationShift articles by Tracy Everbach and Candi Carter Olson, the journalism educators and researchers shared thoughts about how to engage in meaningful discussions about sexual violence and harassment in journalism courses, as well as presented a four-step guide to helping students learn to report on sexual abuse as professional journalists.

“Journalists reporting on these types of stories need to know some of the basics about sexual abuse and violence, as well as myths that continue to be perpetuated,” Olson and Everbach said. “Accurate and fair journalism is essential to changing rape culture. It also is the first step to changing sexual harassment behaviors in newsrooms.”

For February’s #EdShift Twitter chat, we wanted to open up the discussion to see how students and educators are dealing with sexual assault and harassment, both in their reporting and in the classroom — along with how instructors are addressing the complexities. 

The chat took place on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 noon Central / 10 a.m. Pacific Time using the #EdShift hashtag on Twitter.

Participants included: Tracy Everbach of the University of North Texas; Barbara Friedman of the University of North Carolina; Cassandra Jaramillo of The Dallas Morning News; and Ensung Kim of Eastern Illinois University. Candi Carter Olson of Utah State University both participated and moderated the event.

The post #EdShift Chat: How to Discuss, Teach Journalism Students to Report on Sexual Abuse appeared first on MediaShift.

It wasn’t until my second job as the bureau chief of the Silver City Sun-News in Silver City, New Mexico, that I learned I didn’t need an international platform to achieve these goals. I needed the basic journalism skills I’d acquired in college, plus a little extra – the practice of solutions journalism.

Fast forward several years and journalism schools are recognizing the need (and student demand) for solutions journalism, defined by the Solutions Journalism Network as rigorous reporting on how communities respond to social problems.

In my current role as the director of journalism school engagement at SJN, I evangelize the practice of solutions journalism in classrooms across the United States, reaching students who are pursuing this noble work in an effort to impact, engage and build trust with audiences.

The Solutions Journalism Network is partnering with #EdShift to host a Twitter chat exploring how the theory and practice of Solutions Journalism can be implemented into the J-School classroom, as well as its further application within the field as a whole.

The chat will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 noon Central / 10 a.m. Pacific Time using the #EdShift hashtag on Twitter.

Over the past three years, several universities in the United States and Canada have integrated solutions journalism into their core journalism curriculum and pedagogy. Some universities have built modules into existing curriculum, while other professors have chosen to offer semester-long elective courses that focus on one communal issue.

A few examples include Arizona State University, where since 2015, journalism students in every intermediate reporting class in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism complete a solutions journalism news story assignment which is integrated into their semester-long coursework.

Jillian Bauer-Reese at Temple University developed a course last fall called Covering Addiction Through Solutions Journalism and led a team of students to report the intricacies of addiction through a solutions journalism lens. She continues the reporting project this spring semester.

The University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs Fellowship in Global Journalism will partner with the Solutions Journalism Network for the second consecutive year. We will provide a month-long intensive solutions journalism training to its fellows, building on their education and work in investigative reporting.

Kathryn Thier, an instructor at the University of Oregon, takes part in a breakout session at the Solutions Journalism Summit in November 2017. (Photo: Samantha McCann/SJN)

Professors and lecturers attest to the power of introducing their students to solutions journalism, as they deeply believe it enhances student’s reporting, while also fulfilling their own philosophy of producing impactful journalism.

In her 2016 Journalism and Mass Communication Education article titled, “Opportunities and Challenges for Initial Implementation of Solutions Journalism Coursework,” Kathryn Thier writes that the five professors she interviewed believed themselves “to be part of a burgeoning movement.”

“Teaching solutions journalism differed from participants’ other experiences teaching journalism; they felt solutions offered more import or impact,” she wrote. “Rather than seeing their nascent forays into teaching solutions journalism as a response to a changing profession, participants viewed themselves as contributing to the change.”

The Solutions Journalism Network offers valuable resources for both journalism educators and media practitioners. Join the Hub and gain access to the Network’s Story Tracker (currently housing 2,500 solutions journalism stories), reporting toolkits, monthly webinars and a lively network of people devoted to telling stories that impact and engage audiences.

Holly Wise is the director of journalism school engagement at the Solutions Journalism Network. She is also a journalism lecturer at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, where she teaches advanced news writing and multimedia courses, and introduced a solutions journalism course. In 2015, she launched the Texas State Global News Team, which provides mass communication students with international service learning study abroad programs. 

The post How J-Schools Are Innovating by Reporting on Solutions appeared first on MediaShift.

Tweets about #edshift since:2018-01-30 until:2018-02-01

It’s an age-old criticism of the press: it only reports on the problems; it only covers “bad news.” Sometimes, it comes in the form of parachuting into disastrous events and leaving when the rebuilding or healing begins. Other times, it is the reporting on a crime rate or environmental disaster or social ill that can leave readers without a sense of options or potential fixes.

A response to this criticism is solutions journalism, which, as defined by the Solutions Journalism Network is “rigorous reporting on responses to social problems.”

“We seek to rebalance the news, so that every day people are exposed to stories that help them understand problems and challenges, and stories that show potential ways to respond,” according to the SJN website.

In this #EdShift Twitter chat, we explored how the theory and practice of Solutions Journalism could be implemented into the J-School classroom, as well as its further application within the field as a whole, as journalism educators strive to train the next generation of journalists.

The chat took place on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 noon Central / 10 a.m. Pacific Time using the #EdShift hashtag on Twitter.

Participants included: Jillian Bauer-Reese of Temple University and Maureen West of Arizona State University, who both teach solutions journalism; Kaylee Tornay, reporter at the Mail Tribune in Oregon, who is practicing solutions journalism professionally; and Grace Shallow, student of Bauer-Reese’s at Temple University and managing editor of the Covering Addiction website.

Meera Vijayann of the Solutions Journalism Network moderated the event, and an article by Holly Wise about solutions journalism added more background information as well.

The post #EdShift Chat: Solutions Journalism in the Classroom appeared first on MediaShift.

One professor, Lori Shontz at University of Oregon, recently had an epiphany about the importance of teaching business skills in her journalism classroom, while attending the recent J-School Hackathon at the University of North Texas.

In this #EdShift Twitter chat, we explored why it’s important to introduce business skills to journalism students. We also discussed teaching methods, shared tips and technologies, and thought through best practices. 

The chat took place on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 noon Central / 10 a.m. Pacific Time using the #EdShift hashtag on Twitter.

Participants included: Dale Blasingame of Texas State; Jody Brannon, digital strategist, consultant and adjunct professor; Curt Chandler of Penn State University; Gretchen Macchiarella of California State, Northridge; Cindy Royal of Texas State; and Betty Tsakarestou of Panteion University.

#EdShift’s Melissa DiPento moderated the event. A Storify recap is posted below.

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During this chat, we considered what engagement looks like today. We also brainstormed ways we can teach students to experiment with different listening tools, social media callouts, crowdsourcing, Facebook live, A/B testing and much more.

The chat took place on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 noon Central / 10 a.m. Pacific Time, using the #EdShift hashtag on Twitter.

Participants included: Staci Baird of the University of La Verne, Jake Batsell of Southern Methodist University, Carrie Brown of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, Lisa Heyamoto of the University of Oregon, and Marie Shanahan of the University of Connecticut. 

The post #EdShift Chat: How to Teach Engagement Strategies to Students appeared first on MediaShift.

In this chat, we hope to explore the barriers to entry for diverse students communities interested in pursuing journalism, including the digital divide and financial obstacles. We’ll also discuss possible ideas and solutions to improving the current high school to undergraduate journalism pipeline. This will be a conversation for both students and educators, as we want to foster dialogue between these two groups.

The chat was held on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Participants included: Amara Aguilar of USC Annenberg, Patricio Contreras of Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Kat Friedrich, editor at The Yale Center for Business and the Environment, Ted Gutsche of Florida International University, and Michael McKisson of the University of Arizona.

#EdShift’s Melissa DiPento moderated the event. See the Storify below to catch up on the conversation.

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Join MediaShift for a Twitter conversation about the goals both students and professors have for this school year. During this chat, we’ll touch on curriculum, new technologies, evolving journalism models, innovation, diversity and more.

This will be a conversation for students, educators and professionals, as we want to foster dialogue between these three groups.

The chat took place on Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 noon Central / 10 a.m. Pacific Time. 

Participants included: Educators Dale Blasingame of Texas State, Lisa Heyamoto of the University of Oregon, Magda Konieczna of Temple University, Timi Poeppelman of Sacramento State, and Melony Shemberger of Murray State University.

Student participants included Angelique Cherie of Florida A&M University, Taylor Ysteboe of the University of Missouri, and Paolo Zialcita of The University of Nevada, Reno. #EdShift’s Melissa DiPento moderated the event. Special thanks to CUNY social journalism student Kristine Villanueva for partnering with us on this chat.

Melissa DiPento is a social journalism graduate student at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. Prior to CUNY, she spent eight years as a reporter for various local news outlets. She continues to serve as an adjunct journalism professor at various universities.

The post #EdShift Chat: Journalism Students, Professors Set Goals for the Year Ahead appeared first on MediaShift.

Join MediaShift for a Twitter conversation about the role of adjuncts who are teaching this next generation of journalists. During this chat, we’ll touch upon the ways universities can support adjuncts and brainstorm ways that this group of educators, who often balance teaching with a job in the industry, can continue to innovate in the classroom.

This will be a conversation for both full-time and adjunct professors, as we want to foster dialogue between these two groups.

The chat will be held on Wednesday, July 26 at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 noon Central / 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Follow the #EdShift hashtag on Twitter to join the conversation.

Participants include: John Anderson of Brooklyn College, Andrea Hickerson of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Kate Nash Cunningham of the University of New Mexico, Mark Poepsel of SIU Edwardsville, and Timi Poeppelman of CSU Sacramento.

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The accreditation process is coming into question more, as notable programs like The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley journalism graduate school recently dropped their accreditor. While some see accreditation impeding innovation at their journalism schools, others believe this status provides a benefit to students and educators, alike.

Join MediaShift for a Twitter conversation about the pros and cons of journalism accreditation on Wednesday, May 24 at 1 p.m. Eastern / 12 noon Central / 10 a.m. Pacific Time.

Participants include: Carrie Brown of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, Tamara Zellers Buck of Southeast Missouri State University, Barry Hollander of the University of Georgia, Kevin Lerner of Marist College, and Paul Parsons of Elon University. #EdShift’s Melissa DiPento will moderate the event.

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