3
L E T T ER FROM EDITOR
T
here are probably more
student journalists in the
United States than there
are professional working
journalists. This conjecture has
a lot of implications for how we
approach journalism education—
Are we training future journalists?
Future thinkers? Journalism
entrepreneurs? Do we teach
journalism as a trade or as a life
skill?
But on the more practical level it
also means our students play an
important role in the journalism
cycle. In many of our districts,
they are the closest thing to
a community watchdog our
neighborhoods have. How we
navigate this as educators is just
one of the (many) conversations
we need to have.
These are the type of conversations
Adviser Update, in its many forms
and iterations since 1959, has
facilitated. As Richard Levine talks
about on page 6, this will be the
last issue of Adviser Update.
In light of this news, it is
important to remember that we
still have a number of outlets
available to us that help us
By Katina Paron, CJE
examine and strengthen our
work. Linda Shockley talks about
these resources in her column.
She mentions the Journalism
Education Association, which
runs the JEAlistserv—one of
the most active and useful
online groups I am a part of.
The discussions online inspire
deep thoughts and action—and
in some cases, articles, such as
Beatrice Motamedi’s “Lessons
from the Field: Covering Trump’s
inauguration,” which was
inspired by an online debate on
the safety and ethical issues of
covering President Donald Trump’s
inauguration.
This issue is chock-full of
inspiration and advice.
If your publication isn’t online
yet, check out Jill Ocone’s story
on how transitioning to a news
magazine from a newspaper
opened up a window for an online
news site. We also give you tips
for getting the most out of guest
speakers and ideas on how to
tackle environmental journalism
in your classroom. And while our
work inherently teaches teens
about media, Matt Scheiner makes
a case for deliberately including
news literacy lessons in journalism
classes.
Many of you teach classes
other than journalism, so Brian
Sweeney shares how his school
incorporates journalistic principles
in general education courses. And
to reinforce our love of the First
Amendment, we have a double
whammy from press rights gurus
John Bowen and Candace Perkins
Bowen and a detailed look at what
our favorite amendment means to
journalism educators from Trevor
Ivans.
Even though the door is closing
on Adviser Update, I have faith
in our ability to strengthen
the journalism education field
through discussions, questions
and sharing. It is what keeps us
moving forward and keeps our
torches lit.
Katina Paron, CJE, is the director of
the NYC High School Journalism
Collaborative at Baruch College and
the author of the forthcoming comic
book-style text, “A NewsHound’s
Guide to Student Journalism.” You
can find her “Dear Teen Journalist”
advice on Twitter at @katinaparon.