CCLP executive in residence Jeffrey S. Klein and visiting CCLP researcher María José Vázquez Schaich published a paper in Observatorio Journal titled “Entrepreneurial journalism education: where are we now?” The study investigated how entrepreneurial skills are taught in journalism schools around the globe, exploring trends in the courses’ objectives, the challenges faced by lecturers, and how these pioneering courses are integrated into each school’s curriculum.
Klein and Vázquez have worked together in the past to write a case study examining the viability of online community news sites. After studying how the fundamental changes in the media industry are forcing news outlets to explore new revenue models, Klein and Vázquez next turned their attention to studying how journalism schools are tackling the challenge of preparing students during this age of rapid innovation.
To investigate entrepreneurial journalism courses from lecturers’ perspectives, Klein and Vázquez interviewed 33 professors from the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Colombia, and Mexico. Their survey included several open-ended questions, for example: “Why is it important to teach entrepreneurial skills to journalism students/professionals?”
Although Klein and Vázquez found that “resources are still meager” and “support from some tradition-bound journalism schools is still lacking”, journalism schools and professors continue to innovate.
“The lecturers who participated in this survey are leading the way. They have created new courses, cobbled together course materials from a variety of obscure sources, convinced struggling and successful entrepreneurs to visit their classrooms, and inspired students to think differently about their careers and the industry in which they will work.”
The full report, list of respondents, and full answers to the interviews are available at http://entrepreneurialjournalismedu.wordpress.com/.