GLOBAL JOURNALISM EDUCATION

Abstract

Journalism is a more or less autonomous field of study across the globe, yet the education and training of journalists is a subject much debated—but only rarely researched. This paper maps some of the salient issues when studying the structure and culture of a journalism education program to identify the key debates facing programs around the world when structuring, rethinking, and building institutions, schools, or departments of journalism where a combination of practical and contextual training is the prime focus. As a point of departure it is assumed that although media systems and journalistic cultures may differ widely, the changes and challenges facing journalism education around the world are largely similar, and thus would benefit from a “global” approach. The key literature and findings from journalism education studies in different parts of the world is thus conceptually synthesized into 10 categories, starting with philosophical notions of motivation and mission, ending with more “down-to-earth” concepts like curriculum and pedagogy. Each category is discussed in terms of the challenges, debates and tensions as educators and trainers in different parts of the world have signaled these.