The Winds of Change: Whither Journalism Education?

The Winds of Change: Whither Journalism Education? study surveyed journalists about their satisfaction of their journalism education and job. This 1995 survey interviewed 1,041 journalists with one to 11 years of experience. Recruiters and supervisors were also interviewed how they chose interns and new employees and factors that are important in preparing for a career in journalism. The study was conducted by Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan, international foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people.

Satisfaction with Journalism Education

77 percent of the journalists who studied journalism rated the overall quality of their journalism education as very good (38 percent) or good (39 percent).

Another 20 percent rated their education as average.

Only three percent said their education was poor while one percent said their education was very poor.

41 percent think that they were very well-prepared for their first job.

Satisfaction with Job

73 percent of the journalists said they like their present jobs a lot while another 22 percent said they like their job pretty much.

Only four percent said they liked their job a little while one percent said they did not like their job at all.

Compared to a survey by David Weaver and G. Cleaveland Wilhoit, authors of The American Journalist in the 1990's, only 27 percent of all journalists said they were very satisfied in their 1992 study.

Satisfaction with Job by Media Organization

High levels of satisfaction among the journalists were reported at various types of news organizations:

86 percent at large dailies.
82 percent in broadcast journalism.
68 percent at weeklies.
67 percent at small dailies.
61 percent at medium-size dailies.

Important Factors in Hiring

Asked to indicate the importance of each of a series of factors, "very important" ratings were given as follows, with print and broadcast recruiters and supervisors in general agreement with one another:

62 percent- Good experience with students from the program in the past.
53 percent- Ongoing, trusting relationship with a particular program.
41 percent- Long-term reputation of the program.
38 percent- Geographic proximity.
15 percent- Efforts of professors to convince news organizations to recruit.
8 percent- Whether the program is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Important Factors in Preparing for a Journalism Career

This is how recruiters and supervisors rated the importance of the following series of items as preparation for an internship or entry-level job in journalism.

95 percent- Having enthusiasm for journalism.
71 percent- Having an education that stressed general knowledge.
54 percent- Working on campus newspaper or broadcast journalism outlet.
27 percent- Majoring in journalism.
19 percent- Having a previous internship.
7 percent- Obtaining a high grade point average.

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