Journalism educator: Good writing is always in demand
CC-licensed, thanks to rachaelvoorhees on Flickr.
When students ask where they can find jobs, journalism educator Susan Brockus Wiesinger has a one-word reply: “Everywhere.”
Journalism graduates don't need to limit their job searches to news outlets, Wiesinger, the new journalism department chair of Chico State University in California, told the Chico News & Review. She tells students their skills will be invaluable in almost any profession.
In particular, clear, error-free writing is sorely needed not just in journalism and on the web, she said, but in business, on television, in public relations and in many other areas.
That's why, at a moment when many journalism schools are pushing multimedia skills, Weisinger's program has chosen to focus on writing skills.
And while some educators see journalism as a completely separate field from public relations, Wiesinger is eager to elevate PR in her department, which is renaming itself the Department of Journalism and Public Relations. The department already has its own public relations agency, which is run by students.
An upcoming assignment? Promoting the department, of course.
Says Wiesinger: “Journalism has never had to market itself before, but now it does."
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non journalist
I am not a journalist. The purpose of this comment is to support any and all beliefs that typos and grammatical errors are everywhere and seem to be accepted, or just overlooked. What is going on? My room does not need cleaned and my lawn has never needed mowed. Yes, once in while a while, my room needs to be cleaned and once a week, maybe my lawn should be mowed. Ok, one more quick one. I hear a, so called journalist, say this, " this man was going northbound, or he was going southbound." This man was either going north or he was going south. He was northbound or southbound. Thanks, Pat Hayden haydenpat@rocketmail.com
JOBS FOR JOURNALISTS
Jobs for journalists are readily available in rural areas. I have worked as a journalist for 15 years in rural areas and i have seen my reporting changing peoples lives and also influencing policy formulation which benefit the local people i live with. Patson Baraire pbaraire@yahoo.com New Vision Group Kanungu Uganda
Hilarious!
Good writing goes beyond proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Logis and context, too, are important. Unfortunately, these are little-taught in grade school, high school, or English classes in college. They're little-appreciated (and seldom noticed), as well.
Modern publications are rife with typos; I recently read a 50th anniversary edition of a famous author's masterpiece. Obvious typos were still there. (These are the editors' responsibility; there is no "authenticity" in continuing to employ the original misspellings that got past the first editor!)
Beyond that, "journalists" need to know something about their subject matter, and merely saying that "I repeated what my source said" doesn't cut it. The source is using the journalist, and it's the journalist's obligation to know if that use is for good or evil, and to follow up and provide context where necessary. A baby journalist, assigned to a story outside his/her limited background, hasn't a chance.
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