But Can They Write? Television News Industry Assessment of the Skills of Broadcast Journalism Students and Recent Graduates

Measuring the Gap

An examination of the vastness of the much discussed gap between industry and academy is in order. Several studies have indicated that there is some agreement between industry and academy on how broadcast education should look. Duhé and Zukowski (1997) argued that their findings “suggests that there is little debate between academics and industry professionals concerning broadcast journalism curricula” (p. 13). In their survey of print and broadcast professionals and educators, Dickson and Brandon (2000) found “considerable agreement concerning journalism education” (p. 65) between the two groups. The most disagreement between academy and industry in their study occurred over conceptual courses. Blom and Davenport (2012) reported journalism directors in their sample “agreed that reporting and writing courses belong in the core” (p. 81) but that “they might have differed on the content” (p. 81) of those courses.

There is also some support for agreement between the professionals and the professors on the necessary qualities of aspiring broadcast journalists. Findings of a 2014 Poynter Institute survey addressing core skills for journalists showed both working journalists and educators ranked accuracy and curiosity as the first and second most important core skills. Both groups found good news judgment, handling stress and deadlines well, and the ability to write using correct grammar to be important or very important in large numbers (Finberg & Klinger, 2014). A few notable gaps in the study included the difference in opinion about the ability of students to shoot and edit video; about half of professionals ranked shooting and editing video as important or very important as compared with about three quarters of educators.

However, Hansen (2005) argued that journalism education, like that in other fields including nursing and teaching, is one “in which educators are unable to agree on the knowledge base or the appropriate pedagogy for their profession” (p. 131). As a result, “journalism education suffers from ambiguity of purpose” (Hansen, 2005, p. 131). Hansen reasoned, the core values and competencies required of graduates “suggest that journalism educators may be trying to locate the balance between habits of mind and skill acquisition that could resolve some of the historic ambiguity” (p. 131). Deuze (2005) suggested that some of the criticism of journalism education comes from its inconsistency, noting that “throughout the history of journalism (education and studies), the field has had to balance between industry and university, each with its own institutionalized expectations and assumptions” (p. 443).

Assessment Issues

Perhaps what constitutes beautiful writing depends on the eye of assessor. The more than 100 journalism programs accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC; n.d.) are expected to uphold the standards articulated by ACEJMC, though the council does not mandate national curricula. Among the nine standards for accredited programs are expectations of students to write clearly and accurately in the appropriate style for their medium and a written plan for assessment of students’ learning outcomes and analysis to improve curriculum and instruction. But Farwell, Alligood, Fitzgerald, and Blake (2016) noted that “in spite of having this standard in place, many accredited programs struggle with assessment” (p. 71). Farwell et al. (2016) maintained there were several considerations in assessing journalistic writing including the emotions that both students and instructors brought to the task of writing and grading. They also noted that journalistic writing differs from composition writing as it must be written for a media consumer. Farwell et al. (2016) suggested that although rubrics are helpful, they must be used carefully to avoid a checklist style of writing and pointed out that among faculty “there may be some disagreement over whether to focus on process or the end product as they teach writing” (Farwell et al., 2016, p. 32). Finn (1997) described the somewhat contradictory nature of media writing assessment as “simple because the end result of all media writing is an explicit real-world product—the script. Complex because the writer is a student, not a professional” (p. 165).

The Newsroom Perspective

How does the broadcast news industry rate this generation of young television news writers? In a 2014 online survey of television news anchors, reporters, producers, news directors, and assignment editors in various markets and stations across the country, about three quarters of respondents indicated colleges can do a better job of preparing students. These industry professionals cited problems with the overall quality of writing among student interns and new hires who were recent graduates, students’ and graduates’ ability to find and tell stories, and write to deadlines.

Many of those who responded to the survey wrote that not only are broadcast writing skills not up to industry standards but also that many young people are lacking basic grammar and usage skills. A television news producer revealed that she has often heard recent hires say they hate to write, and she wondered why those people were working in a newsroom. She commented, “Writing is so weak it is almost unbelievable . . . and young graduates don’t seem to think that matters.” Another respondent declared that interns from various programs “don’t know how to write simple sentences, much less TV or web copy.”

Nearly a quarter of the responses addressed the need for students and recent graduates to be able to generate good story ideas and be good storytellers. One participant admitted she could have been better prepared in college to generate story ideas and suggested classes “on generating ideas and knowing a good story when they see it and knowing how to get it.” An anchor observed that young reporters depended heavily on the Internet when looking for story ideas and suggested they break out of their digital native habits:

If a student has a leaning toward political reporting, encourage him to work on a local campaign. Or have coffee with the mayor to find out what issues are going on in local government . . . Learning how to develop relationships with sources seems to be lacking. And in my opinion, that’s still the fun part of the job.

One of the reporters in the sample wrote, “We need to focus more on the importance of finding the true issue, finding characters and telling their stories.” An executive producer passionately declared,

Must teach broadcast writing and storytelling. Reporters can learn the mechanics of editing and shooting largely on the job. I am shocked at how poor writing skills are for the majority of recent graduates. Learning how to write and tell a compelling story is far more valuable in the long run than a recent graduate who can shoot video.

One respondent offered, in college “there also needs to be a greater emphasis on true reporting. Not only getting the facts, but how to get them and where. It’s sometimes tough in TV to put together a quality story . . .” An anchor in the sample agreed with that sentiment; he suggested colleges need to have more “practical learning as to what is involved in getting a story together and getting it on the air.”

Several participates indicated professors and programs must do more to teach students to work to deadline; for example, requiring students to complete stories in hours instead of days or weeks. One respondent simply remarked, “I don’t think people are prepared for the deadlines.” An anchor in the sample expressed, “deadlines are real . . . not imaginary. Students need to get real life training in deadline writing and reporting. Not assignments that are due the next week or day.” Several respondents suggested students get real-life training in working to deadlines by reporting and producing in simulated newsrooms on campus and participating in a daily student newscast whether live or taped. Another suggestion for instructors was to bring industry professionals to speak to the students about the importance of deadlines.

Robust internships were proposed by some as an opportunity for students to get experience working with deadlines in a television newsroom. One respondent offered, however, that interns must demonstrate they “took an active role in their internships by going out with reporters or helping producers write stories for their shows.” In addition to being mandatory, several participants who wrote about internships noted that not all interns get valuable hands-on experiences in the newsroom during an internship; one respondent observed, “In too many newsrooms, it seems interns are treated as members of a tour group and not given a realistic view of the industry.”

In the area of general knowledge, one respondent proclaimed in all capital letters, “READ, READ, READ.” A news director quipped, “us old timers had a current events quiz every week” and thought most recent graduates could not pass a current events quiz. One recommendation for helping students build general knowledge was creating programs that “encourage outside degrees or double majors so there is a more of a broad knowledge base among newsroom employees.”

While the majority of comments centered on students, several participants wrote that professors need current industry skills to be more effective in the classroom at preparing their students for work in television news. One news director in the sample observed, “In my experience, for most college professors I have met, it has been years since they stepped into a newsroom. It would be helpful if they did this as they could relate it to what they teach.” An anchor revealed technology wasn’t part of his college experience; he wrote, “I had a professor who understood the ethics and demands of this career field, however there were no preparations when it came to new technology, web content and social media.”

Putting the Comments to Work

Television news professionals in this survey identified weaknesses of students and recent graduates primarily in the areas of writing, finding story ideas, storytelling, being able to work on deadline, and general knowledge. They further identified the need for many broadcast journalism educators to remain current on the television news industry to bring relevant instruction to the classroom. Professionals also suggested the need for internships that offer robust learning experiences for students.

News writing classes are a core requirement for most journalism programs, with students often required to take several of those classes. For broadcast or multimedia journalism students, skills courses typically include instruction on writing to audio and video. Many programs offer hands-on experiences for students in which they apply writing skills through work on campus papers, radio and television stations, and websites. Previous studies have indicated that broadcast news instructors recognize the importance of developing good broadcast news writers and storytellers. Why, then, are the writing skills of broadcast journalism students still not up to the standards expected by the industry? Does the gap between academy and industry exist in the perception of what good writing looks like? Is the way some faculty teach and evaluate broadcast writing in need of change? Developing writing and storytelling skills in students that are acceptable to both industry and academy may best be addressed in a collaborative effort between educators and professionals. Previous studies have found there is some agreement between industry and academy on the skills students must have to be successful in broadcast journalism. Collaborative articulation of outcomes and development of clear, descriptive rubrics may help identify problems and solutions in student writing.

Extensive television news laboratory experiences for students may be challenging for some programs to facilitate. Daily deadlines may be difficult to impose in a college environment. However, many participants in this sample thought ensuring students get some type of experience with daily deadlines would be beneficial. Whereas many journalism programs already encourage or require internships, these respondents observed that some internships are not providing students with the opportunity to take an active role in the newsroom or give them hands-on experience. They stressed that internships should be required and that those internships include opportunities for students to develop their writing skills overall as well as the skill of writing to deadline.

Although some in the academy and the industry are already successful in incorporating the following suggestions, some best practices for the academy include an examination of the design, assessment, and outcomes of broadcast writing and reporting classes; ensuring students have opportunities to cover and write stories out of class and under deadline pressure; requiring robust internship experiences, bringing in guest speakers from the industry; offering continuing education, workshops, and other opportunities to keep professors current on technology and innovation in the industry; hiring adjunct faculty or visiting faculty who are current broadcast professionals; and seeking opportunities for dialogue with other educators and practitioners on their expectations, assumptions, and suggestions. Some best practices for broadcast journalism professionals include providing meaningful internships that offer students opportunities to take an active role in newsgathering and reporting as well as an authentic view of the culture and expectations of the newsroom; suggesting professional advisory boards to broadcast journalism programs in the area if they do not exist or become active on existing advisory boards; making reasonable accommodations for mangers, producers, reporters, and/or anchors to accept offers to be guest speakers in broadcast journalism classes or make educators aware of your willingness to speak to students in broadcast journalism classes; and initiating dialogue with the educators and administrators in broadcast journalism programs about opportunities for improvement and innovation.

Finally, considering Becker and Kosicki’s (1996) reflection on the potential differences between assessment of broadcast journalism students and graduates, a collaborative approach for designing rubrics may prove useful in agreeing upon what qualifies as good broadcast writing. Professionals and professors working together on assessment tools such as rubrics would provide a model and standard for student writing and other necessary skills that perhaps, at long last, would help span the gap between academy and industry.