This January my friend and co-worker (I like the term co-friend) Jaime and I were interviewed by Butler University for its
journalism website. Earlier we had met with the head of the journalism department to discuss changes in the school's curriculum, and to say I'm jealous of the j-school kids who get to study in the new communications department is an understatement.
When we were at Butler the electronic, media arts and print journalism courses were completely separated. Now that we're on the grind at the publishing company, we pretty much do all three -- print and online writing, social media marketing, shooting and editing video, taking photographs, copy editing -- and although we learned a lot at Butler, many of the skills I have learned since graduating have been learned through experience and adapting my journalistic skills as necessary.
While adapting your skills is something that will happen to every graduate at their first job, and correspondingly at every new job thereafter, the fact that the new communications department at Butler is combining all three departments (electronic, media arts and print) will only make students more prepared.
Anyways, long story short, here's the
story featuring me and Jaime. And here's a great
article about entrepreneurial media in my home state of Michigan and how media as a whole is evolving. Tip for younger journalists -- learn every medium, because when you get hired, you'll have to know and do it all.
