And for print journalists, I don t see that as much of a departure, because, so far, Web journalism is pretty print oriented. The real culture clash is with television and my suspicion is that television will get more out of this than print will. Media convergence, however, wasn t the only topic. Others included strengthening writing, computer-assisted reporting, ethics, newspaper design, diversity, credibility, quality, the First Amendment, readership and journalism education. Discussion focused on the current state of affairs, information that is critical for educators who may not have worked in the industry in recent years, or may have little hands-on experience.
Many questions remain.
Serious questions with no simple answers. I find it very frustrating that journalism educators and working journalists don t do a better job of working together to support each other, said Kim Walsh-Childers, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Walsh-Childers said working journalists often complain that journalism educators don t have enough professional experience or recent professional experience, so students don t understand what the real world of journalism is like. The journalism professors at API didn t attempt to discuss all the questions. The bonus topic generated much discussion.