Journalism and Mass Communication Education in The Age of Technology

The developmental research project was undertaken to determine the best way to structure the future of journalism and mass communication education so that it remains a viable discipline within the academy. New media technology is an emerging discipline within the journalism field. While many new jobs exist for graduates who are skilled in the field, only a small number of colleges and universities are offering undergraduate programs to train students in new media technology. The goal of the dissertation was to propose a new undergraduate major in new media technology that schools may implement. The literature review traces the origins and development of journalism and mass communication education through the 19th and 20th centuries and focuses on the emerging field of new media technology and online journalism. To help answer the research questions, a survey questionnaire was distributed to journalism and mass communications educators at 108 programs in the United States and to more than 300 media professionals. All the programs are accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), and the media professionals are all members of the Online News Association (ON A). The total number of participants was 102. In the surveys, participants shared their views on the current state of journalism and mass communication education as well as the new media industry through a combination of rank-order items, Likert-type scales, and open-ended questions. Results were used to correlate industry requirements with program offerings to prescribe the best possible undergraduate program in new media technology. The content, coverage and feasibility of the model program were validated by a panel of experts