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UWI Launches Journalism Programme
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University of the West Indies St Augustine campus principal Professor Clement Sankat receives a congratulatory handshake from deputy managing director Guardian Media Limited Brandon Khan, while publisher emeritus Ken Gordon right; chief executive officer, Caribbean Communications Network, Dawn Thomas, left, and TV6 general manager Shida Bolai look on at a media briefing to launch the Certificate in Journalism programme at the campus yesterday. PHOTO: JENNIFER WATSON 28th Oct 2010 COMMENTS FROM PROFESSIONALS IN THE FIELD: Head Of News: I’m not impressed by local or regional courses in journalism. In my experience journalists who train outside of the region come better prepared to deliver the standards of journalism that are truly required. Either giving our journalists experience in international news stations or recruiting foreign professors or media staff that are competent and well experienced may be the answer. Experienced TV Journalist:In my experience you learn your job and the right attitude to approach your job on the field from veterans, not through learning theories. In my experience courses with PR or Mass Communications have nothing to do with journalism. You may learn some basics regarding libel, defamation etc but paper doesn’t qualify you…it just quantifies you. Sport Journalist: There is a measure of professionalism, good usage of the English language and some other good foundational skills. I think certificates and degrees do give you which is an asset to anyone wanting to enter the industry. It's an important factor more now than when I entered the field, because more and more you compete against people with formal qualifications to get jobs or promotions. What's your point of view? |
I agree with the Experience TV Journalist
ReplyDeleteU learn everything on the job!
ReplyDeletesometimes ethics and what's right flies out the window and I think most working media professionals only get the degrees and certificates to say "hey I am qualified."
Surely training for three years to have a degree in your profession WILL increase your ability to perform well in your job. Maybe these experienced journalists don't have degrees and don't welcome change.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am not impressed with Local and Regional courses for Media Practitioners. However, I must expand on that sentence in so far as saying that if a course is conducted here in Triniada & Tobago by an academically-qualified and experienced journalist who obtained his/her qualifications from an accredited international university, and gathered his/her experience from reputable institutions such as the BBC, CNN, NBC, and ABC, then the course should be worth its salt. However, courses conduced by fly-by-night institutions that have cropped up over the years cause me to frown.
ReplyDeleteI believe that media courses taught by a reputable institutions certainly would increase professionalism in the industry. A sound education along with on the job experience goes hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteM