By Jude Mathurine
JMS opened a new chapter when it ratified a Convergence Statement at its Academic Forum this morning. The statement recognises the enormous changes that digital media production, distribution and use has on the media sector and journalism practice, and addresses this by shifting its approach to journalism and media studies education.
JMS joins several other educational and training institutions, including Utrecht Hogeschool, Chapel-Hill, Columbia J-School and the French Center de Formation des Journalistes that have begun to critically engage with the implications of digital journalism for teaching and learning journalists, media producers and academics for the future.
The implication is that every course in the JMS programme - from writing and editing, to media law and ethics, from photography to design - will interrogate what new media means, and teach digital journalism and media production competences in a holistic manner. This includes educating students in critical cognitions for the kind of informed, participatory and active citizenship that is needed for new global economy, culture and polity.
The policy also fundamentally influences technology acquisition and use, human resource and capacity building for staff, research and publishing strategies among other things.