Official blog of Clark's Blogging for Journalists class, Mass Communication department

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Why a "journalism" degree is still a good major

Turn to page 2 of this link, and read Jeff Funk's column. Comment below today.
The Oklahoma Publisher

20 comments:

  1. I actually really enjoyed this article because even though times have changed, the foundations for journalism remain the same. And I also agree that journalism teaches you skills that you will be able to use outside of the journalism realm such as gathering information and checking your facts and writing. Lastly, he gave some helpful leads to where your journalism degree could be applied, places I hadn't even considered which was interesting!

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  2. This article was very helpful. Often times, even while blogging, I just blog and don't really focus on what point I'm trying to get across, or what words to put more emphasis on. After reading this article it reassured me that I can only get better with my writing if I continue to become more engaged. Also, journalism doesn't just go for writing. It also branches out to communicating with others. With that, you learn who to contact, how to get pieces of information that is missing and most importantly, how to communicate and get information effectively. This article was very eye opening and insightful!

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  3. With just a journalism minor I can agree with most of what he said. I have experienced a lot of this firsthand. One of the most helpful things we learn is to work under pressure. In the career world there will always be a deadline we are facing and being able to handle that pressure and still produce amazing work is a very valuable skill.

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  4. I'm not really a journalism major, but I agree with the points he made. I've still taken multiple journalism classes, and they definitely cover a wide range of skills that can be applied to many jobs. I think some of what he said can be applied to my major too, because since I have taken journalism classes, I've learned about presenting photographs in a news format and when it is appropriate or not to take photos.

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  5. You hear almost daily on news outlets, websites, and people on street telling you to avoid degrees much like journalism. I mean really it limits your options, doesn't allow you to have a fall back plan, and can even make have to get a job that DOESN'T require a college degree. These are the horror stories that we all hear daily it seems like.

    Thank goodness for stories like these. At the end of the day there is just so many reasons why degrees like journalism still hold weight and still give you a great opportunity to succeed. You need to take that into consideration when picking your degree path and sometimes you can be talked out of what you want to do by rumors, myths, and ghost stories shared by others. I am one of those people. I wanted a degree in journalism but got talked out of it. I just accepted a full time position yesterday as a sports journalist in Stillwater.... I don't even have a degree for that. The dream is still alive and well and anyone who tells you differently just needs to read the article above.

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  6. This article seemed to really connect with me when thinking about my degree in Strategic Communications. Since in strat comm you do learn so many journalism skills not only to train you as journalists, but train you how these skills are useful in other fields as well (PR, advertising, marketing, org comm).

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  7. I thought it was very interesting how he responded to the high school student. I think many people today have the same view as the high school student. Many people believe that a journalism degree is less important today, because of the rapid change in communications. However, as the author states, there are so many valuable skills to be gained from a journalism degree that are crucial to the success of a journalist.

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  8. My opinion is that this generation is all in need of some sort of journalism degree or background. With society now being ran by social media of all sorts and news from the world wide web; it is hard to determine what is credible. Also, more often than ever arguments happen over media, but the structure of the argument is generally self perspective instead of factual base. Having a journalism background teaches skills like seeking useful facts, spotting missing information and logic gaps, communication with a purpose, accuracy value with credible information from credible sources, and using thoughtful judgment. To just name a few of Jeff Funk points from his article.

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  9. This article makes me feel good about the major I chose. All the facts he listed about the benefits of having a journalism degree are completely true. The skills that journalism teaches can be used in almost every career and can also be used in just every day life

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  10. This article was cool to read seeing that so many people think the journalism and press releases are dying. It is amazing how times change, but how much you can still do with a journalism degree. You don't only learn to write better but you learn to communicate better and many other things. This degree is something that can be used in any work place which is really cool.

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  11. I like that he put this out there. I have actually heard quite a few times that journalism is not a good degree to get. Its not my degree either, but for someone whose life goal is to be a journalist, it can be heart breaking to hear that. So I feel that this is really encouraging to students that there is still work out there. There is so many thing that a journalism degree can teach you. And if that's what you're interested in, then you should go for it!

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  12. True, so many of our jobs today in any professional field is dependent on written communication. I believe any degree in the communications field are going to give applicants an advantage over others.

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  13. I enjoyed reading this article. I didn't realize how many tools you have majoring in journalism, but our degree can help you in so many different ways and in so many different fields. This degree should be able to teach you skills no matter what field you are in and I did not realize that.

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  14. Jeff Funk Made many good points. He pretty much tells you that you have to stay relavent in order to continue to be a worthy journalist. In todays world we make it out to be a "what have you done for me today". You have to have many different sources for your work today. You have to have a social media outlet, Blog, columns, or articles up daily. As a successful journalist in todays world it's tough but if you're dedicated enough you will succeed.

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  15. I've always debate about how much a Journalism degree is important. For me it's very hard, because Brazil just passed a law a couple years ago saying that you don't need a journalism degree to work in the field, not as relevant as it was before. I still believe the degree is important no matter what, and is the proper way to learn about the media. The skills that are taught at school are helpful for a life time.

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  16. I liked this article and agree that journalism can and should still be used. The information gathering and communication facts listed are perfect examples of what all a degree in this area can help with. After reading this it reminds me although we have many advance quickly, it's important to always look back on our history and to keep learning from it.

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  17. In my experience when talking to others who aren’t familiar with communications, they often overlook pursuits and degrees in journalism. Maybe because it is possible to have a career in journalism without a degree, but for example you can't have a career as a doctor without a degree. It is important to go to school for journalism, because it would be difficult to learn the things mentioned in the article without having necessary training and tangible accountability, like professors. All of the things mentioned are not easy to learn and push people outside of the comfort zone, like most degree programs.

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  18. I loved this article because so many people say journalism is dead and that my degree will be useless in a couple of years, but if anything I think journalism degrees will be more valuable. The useful things that we learn as journalism students listed in this article are very true and applicable in the newsroom. Having an internship is one of the most important things our program at UCO. Being in my internship has opened my eyes to real world newsrooms and helped me decide more accurately what I want to do when I graduate.

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  19. I love this article. It reminds me of why Im getting a journalist degree. I am a senior and I will graduate in just 5 weeks and I haven't thought about all that I have learned until I read this article. I have learned how to seek out useful facts, being credible, communication skills, how to edit work as I go, gotten the opportunity to attend a life changing internship, learned the impact of words (thanks to Mr. Clark), and Ive also learned that journalist make a difference. So it has been very rewarding and I am glad to be a journalist.

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