Article
Reforming J101: Establishing an Online Presence
Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication
(2011)
Abstract
Establishing an online presence is essential for anyone hoping for a career in journalism today. Increasingly, journalists in all media are expected to write for websites, maintain their own blogs, and use social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to promote their work, interact with readers, and find new sources. A key question for journalism educators, however, is when to start the process of establishing those online skills. This paper examines what can be done in an introductory journalism course at a liberal arts college, where journalism is not necessarily the career students have in mind. It suggests techniques for encouraging students, but not compelling them, to start using LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs after completing the course. It examines student reactions to a series of classes offering tips and resources, held near the end of the first semester of introductory journalism. It concludes that this is a useful and professional way of launching students into professional online writing by allowing them to go at their own pace.
Keywords
- journalism education,
- online journalism
Disciplines
Publication Date
2011
Citation Information
Available at https://aejmc.us/spig/2011/reforming-j101-establishing-an-online-presence-2/