Understanding technology for journalism competence

Creative Commons photo from Flickr user BRAYDAWG

By Katy Mersmann

When I was in Washington this semester, I was fortunate enough to attend the National Press Foundation awards dinner with my fellow Mizzou journalism students. Wolf Blitzer was honored at the ceremony for a lifetime of dedication to journalism. During his remarks, he told an anecdote about learning to type with both hands at the same time while he was working for Reuters. My entire table of students was aghast. Blitzer was hired by a big, successful news agency without even basic typing skills. Today, that's pretty hard to imagine. 

I share this anecdote as an example of the rapid changes in journalism technology. I was reading Poynter's newly released, updated Pyramid of Journalism Competence. The pyramid was originally created in 1998 for a forum Poynter hosted for the Committee for Concerned Journalists and offered guidance to journalists about what they needed to know.

ONA Mizzou event: Picking the right journalism school track for you

By Andrew Gibson

Photo credit: Clyde Bentley/Flickr

I started at MU dreaming of becoming an ink-on-paper politics reporter. Yeah, I wanted to chase presidential candidates around the country. And maybe have an occasional appearance alongside Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "The Situation Room."

Then, not five months later, I started leaning toward magazine journalism. It sounded more relaxed than government reporting, and the thought of scrutinizing reader-submitted poetry in the New Yorker newsroom had me feeling fancy.

Finally, I settled on the multimedia glory of convergence -- but not before first going through a phase of broadcast infatuation.

What I'm getting at is: Picking the right track in the journalism school can be difficult. Not only do you have more than 30 to pick from, but you'll also be surprised by how much your interests change in just a few months. Plus, it's possible your envisioned career path doesn't pair best with the emphasis area you have in mind.

Although we can't make the decision for you, we can offer help. Join ONA Mizzou at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, as we host a panel of students and academic adviser Amy Bruer for a question-and-answer session on journalism school emphasis areas. They'll explain what to expect from course work and give you the lowdown on the culture of each newsroom or advertising agency. The event location is 110 Lee Hills Hall (that's the Columbia Missourian building).

If you have questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment here, email us or tweet us @ONAMizzou.