Revisiting Roots: Teaching Journalism

Teaching journalism again is like getting back on a bike, albeit one that constantly changes tires, revamps its brakes, reconfigures its gears, switches out handlebars, repaints itself, repaints itself again, and flirts briefly with rainbow streamers before discarding them.

Other than that, yeah, it’s basically the same.

I began teaching at the Sorbonne in 2013, leading journalism workshops, teaching students to blog and think about researching and reporting. I’ve done it in London and New York, and now I’m at it again, focusing more broadly on digital media writing, but still incorporating elements of journalism into my classes.

While so much has changed, it’s comforting, in many ways, that the essentials have remained the same. I used to wonder how older journalism professors kept their jobs. How did they constantly learn about the new trends and tools that younger educators may have mastered more quickly. Now I get it. The trends come and go, but the roots of it all remain unchanged, like a grapevine that may produce different wines depending on a smattering of factors each year.

Like its roots, however, the core of journalistic practice remains the same.

But enough with the metaphors. Why is journalism education still important?

1. It Structures Storytelling

Anyone can tell a story, but telling a good one – a concise one that gets to the point without losing the audience – is far from intuitive. Endless ramblings and abrupt segues do anything but keep our attention, and trained journalists understand this.

By learning what journalism is and how it operates, even on a fundamental level, students learn what is vital to a story and what is secondary, ultimately whittling away at their story until it's lean and clean, leaving audiences satisfied but just hungry enough for the next one.

2. It Prioritizes Clarity

Journalism is storytelling with a deliberate twist. It relies on the facts. The wolf’s height or Little Red Riding Hood’s voting history may not be important to Perrault, but for a journalist, these details matter. They form the backbone of the story. Journalists supply readers with transparently-sourced facts, testimonies of those who fuel the story, and language that leaves little room for interpretation.

Or at least that’s the goal.

This sort of clarity in writing and storytelling, when reflexive, generates a communication that is thorough and complete, ensuring readers and viewers aren’t left scratching their heads.

3. It Crosses Markets

Once someone masters the art of clear, concise storytelling, doors open. Marketing doors. PR doors. Communication doors. Branding doors. Content doors. And countless others.

Journalistic instincts provide a set of research and writing skills that are transferable to new disciplines and professional opportunities. When considering the alleged average salary of a journalist, it’s easy to understand why this is an attractive reality. I’ve worn many hats in the past 20 years, most thanks to my built-in journalism instincts that have matured since completing a degree at NYU.

Abandoning the ethics instilled by journalistic training, I’ll admit, is sometimes challenging, but fortunately moral quandaries haven’t caused many headaches just yet. Except that whole experience working as an “editor” in China, but more on that another time…

I wish it were easy to continue exercising the craft and live as a journalist forever, but it’s not always in the cards. The reflex to act as one, however, won’t fade. Whether it’s marketing or teaching or any other word-related endeavor, I’ll be a journalist first and foremost thanks to my education and training – and so far, it’s served me well.

I hope my students are listening.

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