The site is asking people to write a blog post about what they think J-schools should be teaching their students, especially at this difficult time for journalists.

Although the deadline was yesterday, I wanted to write about this topic anyways. I just started my internship at a large major daily that distributes to almost the entire country. Now that I have almost made it into the ‘real world’ I have been thinking about the education that led me here.

First I should say that I did a post-graduate program after going to McMaster University and getting my BA in Political Science. I had NO idea what I wanted to do with my life and all the journalism programs still had open deadlines in the last month of my last year at Mac. It was either journalism, advertising or take a year off. I decided to go with journalism since I like learning new things and I have a short attention span. I figured journalism would be the place for me.

I was right. It was the best decision I have ever made. I get to work with people if I want to that day. I can learn about so many different areas and things and people. And it’s something new everyday potentially. And it’s fun!

I am doing layout and copy editing for my internship. Which I love. However, I feel like in this volatile industry my area is the easiest to source out or get rid of! We will always need writers, but if newspapers die – what will I do?

In terms of design, pressure needs to be put on in the classroom! I think it’s important for students to learn design because it does give them other options in the future careers. While newspapers may be on the out, they could use their design skills in advertising or PR. But when I was learning InDesign, my teacher would give us HOURS to write our headlines. That meant that when I got into the ‘real world’ I was unprepared for the pressure I was under daily. It was difficult.

I also think that the Internet needs to be ultilized to its full potential. I think many teachers don’t understand the value of the internet for sources and networking. While in school I used Facebook to find at least one source for almost every story I wrote. It allowed me to find diverse sources who wanted to talk about what it was I was approaching them about. Most notably I did a story about Costume play. The people I found on Facebook were so willing to talk to me it was unbelieveable! They were basically writing essays to me even before I asked them a single question! I found that when you are finding people who are genuinely interested in what it is you are asking them, they will be more than willing to talk. The Internet is THE way to find people like this.

Facebook and Twitter need to be pushed in the classroom. They are fantastic networking tools and I don’t think that teachers have fully realized that yet.

One thing that is good at my college is that they teach you about radio and tv broadcasting. Although I disliked both of the classes (mostly because of the teacher) I appreciated why I was forced to take them and the benefits I walked away with.

My class and the upcoming graduates from J-schools are in big trouble as it stands. Teachers need to push new media. They also need to teach about other industries that students can easily move into. Advertising and PR for example. This is where many of their students will end up, so why not help them do it. They will appreciate it in the long run. Teachers need to realize that these students are going to be in trouble if they don’t have skills that make them unique compared to other hundred j-school grads out there. It’s already a competitive industry, give your students the edge they need and be honest with them. Tell them they will be in trouble if they don’t learn other avenues in the same industry and tell them that their chosen career path is slowly dying. They are the future hope though. The j-schoolers right now are the ones who are (hopefully) going to save the industry and figure out how to make it work. I have hope that it will be done. Newspapers are an important part of society and I genuinely don’t believe that we can do without them.