Journalists entering the news business today are better trained in video, audio, social media and web skills than they were five years ago, according to a new CU Boulder study exploring longtime journalists’ perceptions of newcomers. But those longtime journalists also believe newcomers lack news judgment, interviewing skills and writing chops.
“Veteran journalists believe schools have overcorrected and begun to focus too much on technology at the expense of the fundamentals,” said study author Patrick Ferrucci, an assistant professor of journalism in the College of Media, Communication and Information.
The paper is one of six to come out of a two-year research project in which Ferrucci interviewed 72 journalists nationwide at length about how the digital revolution has changed the way they do their jobs.
It comes as films such as The Post and Spotlight are highlighting the triumphs of past hard-hitting print reporting, and as journalism educators—including those at CU Boulder—are re-examining curricula to ensure graduates have an optimal balance of high-tech and old-school skills.