WJEC’s Paris Syndicate Program: Discussions Advance Global Journalism Education

Introduction

The World Journalism Education Congress’ (WJEC) live, research-based Syndicate Program is a key feature at WJEC conferences. From the WJEC’s first conference in Singapore (2007) to its latest in Paris (2019), it has given—and continues to give—conference-goers from around the globe an opportunity to discuss journalism education topics they value most.

Like the WJEC itself, the first-known international conference dedicated solely to improving journalism education, the Syndicate Program brings together journalism scholars, professionals, and students worldwide to share their ideas about the field, pedagogy, best practices, and research. The WJEC’s syndicates focus on the above activities during WJEC conferences, which occur every 3 years.

In a nutshell, syndicate discussions take place among conference-goers in small groups, ideally limited to 12 attendees and 3 coordinators (a topic expert, chair/moderator, and rapporteur), who participate in focused discussions on timely journalism education topics. These groups typically meet twice during the WJEC’s 3-day conventions to discuss well-defined topics and produce recommendations on how to improve journalism pedagogy and scholarship.

Syndicate discussions are kicked off by white papers, written by experts on each topic. They are delivered to syndicate members pre-conference, when discussions begin. Each white paper ends with a specific question that, when answered, can help advance scholars’ understanding of each subject. During pre-conference discussions, syndicate members not only introduce themselves and their expertise, but often add new ideas and research findings to the mix.

Syndicate discussions go live at each WJEC conference. While chairs/moderators keep the discussions on track, experts are typically on hand to weigh in on research-related issues. When syndicate discussions end, rapporteurs typically meet to write each group’s recommendations, which are usually presented in a final WJEC syndicate results session. Post-conference, rapporteurs follow up with more detailed recommendations, usually posted online and in journal articles, and some syndicate colleagues continue collaborating on teaching and research projects, such as professors Melissa Wall (California State University, Northridge, USA) and David Baine’s (Newcastle University, UK) Pop-up Newsroom coverage of global poverty (Reid, 2013).

The Syndicate Experience

The Syndicate Program debuted during WJEC’s first conference in Singapore (2007). It was introduced to WJEC by Suellen Tapsall, then a WJEC Australian delegate, president of the Association for Journalism Education (Australia and New Zealand), and president and director of the Australian Institute of Management–University of Western Australia (AIM-UWA) Business School Alliance. She experienced similar discussion groups at one of her alliance’s training programs, which focused on “help[ing] business executives inspire group ownership among participants in their projects” (Goodman, 2007, p. 11). And, according to WJEC founder and former president Joe Foote (University of Oklahoma), Tapsall thought “it would be an ideal format for WJEC . . . to bring several perspectives together and . . . to provide a forum where delegates from different backgrounds could express themselves” (Foote, 2007, p. 5).

Soon after the Singapore conference, Foote, a devoted advocate for the Syndicate Program, described syndicate involvement as follows:

What is most difficult to explain is the intangibles of this experience. Just bringing colleagues from different nations together in small group experiences . . . focused on a single topic produced a much more robust and stimulating environment than any of the Americans were accustomed to. For many, it was the capstone experience of the WJEC’s perfect complement to the traditional panels that headlined the event. (p. 5)

Foote (2007) continued that the syndicates bring about important insight and agreement:

Each syndicate session brought more respect for the opinions of colleagues from other countries and more insight into how educators from other environments would perceive a particular problem . . . A special dynamic emerged among the participants; nearly every group started moving toward a consensus. (p. 5)

When Tapsall left her WJEC position after the Singapore conference, her syndicate co-chair and a WJEC co-founder, Robyn S. Goodman (Alfred University), began running the program with extensive help from conference hosts. Elanie Steyn (University of Oklahoma), WJEC’s research paper chair, officially joined Goodman’s syndicate team as a co-chair in the lead up to the New Zealand conference. At the same time, so did doctoral student Imran Hasnat (University of Oklahoma), as a consultant, and both, along with conference hosts, have helped build the program ever since.

As Foote suggests above, one of the most powerful aspects of syndicates is their ability to focus in on common concerns journalism educators worldwide share, not on what sets them apart. And since journalism educators’ concerns are becoming increasingly globalized (Goodman, 2017a), syndicate-inspired comradery with international colleagues is not only especially helpful when discussing and solving problems, but “exhilarating and addictive,” according to a recent participant.

Syndicate Highlights

Reviewing syndicate topics past and present is like reviewing journalism education headline stories: The most important topics are generally covered, while more last-minute, especially urgent ones are later added. Beginning with Singapore and ending with Paris, all syndicate programs discussed some version of the following: journalism in a digital age, the need for increasing diversity and inclusion, protecting different viewpoints during increased media consolidation and globalization, improving journalism education’s status in the academy, exploring the state of journalism research, and creating the ultimate journalism education.

As for new syndicate topics over the years, in Singapore (2007), reporting in the age of terror was added (Goodman, 2007). In South Africa (2010), new topics consisted of media literacy, developing an entrepreneurial mindset, social media, mobile journalism, sports journalism, climate change, blogging/reflective writing, and administrators’ journalism education-related concerns (Goodman, 2011). In Belgium (2013), new topics focused on ethics (accountability and transparency, and coping with spin and pressure), the academy and industry helping each other, investigative journalism (data journalism and storytelling), international reporting, getting young people to care about the news, and journalism in a network society, including citizen and civic journalism (Goodman, 2014). In New Zealand (2016), additions consisted of fact checking, verification in the digital and “fake news” era, teaching hospitals, transmedia journalism, new challenges facing internships, encouraging community engagement (crowd-sourcing, etc.), and de-Westernizing journalism education (Goodman, 2017b). And Paris (2019) highlighted preparing journalism students for skeptical and fact-resistant audiences, journalism training beyond journalism schools, teaching international reporting via digital global collaboration, preparing future journalists for on-the-job trauma, keeping passion for journalism alive while piling on new journalism skills, and teaching journalists how to overcome their own stereotyping and profiling biases.

WJEC-Paris Syndicates

WJEC-Paris’ syndicate-driven analysis is now being published for the first time in this special edition of Journalism & Mass Communication Educator. What follows are brief articles integrating each Paris syndicate’s white paper and rapporteur’s report, consisting of research-based discussions and recommendations, by and for global journalism educators. Paris’ 12 syndicates are listed below, in their original order, via topic and organizing question.