Results · Trends
Trends
Based on the literature review and the key questions survey, two clusters containing three themes have been identified.
- Journalism education and society
- Organization and structure
- Form of learning
- Skills
- Knowledge
- Attitude
Based on these six themes, certain and uncertain trends were identified in eight different sessions. This was done in smaller groups in which various experts discussed with each other.
Certain trends
Today it is virtual reality and artificial intelligence, tomorrow the next innovation will come. The journalist will always have to keep up with technological innovations, because these have an impact on the profession (both in terms of production, distribution, ethics) and on society as a whole.
Dealing with the public entails much more than focusing on a specific target group. It is also about being aware of inclusion and diversity as a journalist, really listening to your audience, making products that your audience needs and even cooperating (intensively) with your audience.
Learning can be done in all kinds of ways and places, both online and offline. It can be done with or without a teacher and therefore does not necessarily have to take place within the walls of a training institute. You can also learn from (media) companies and in society, so by doing it. In the coming years, the possibilities for learning in or via virtual reality will grow even further.
A curious and critical attitude remains the basis of a journalist. General development and historical awareness are decisive for giving meaning to facts and thus the context. Skills such as researching (selecting, verifying) and interviewing are necessary to make an accessible production in any form. Due to all social and technological developments, this foundation is more important than ever.
Uncertain trends
In addition, the following uncertain trends emerged. ‘Uncertain’ means it is unclear whether and how these trends will continue. The axes that form the basis of the four scenarios have been determined based on the most impactful uncertain trends.
Under the influence of a multitude of forms and specialisms, and an increase in platforms, the boundaries of what journalism is are blurring. In addition, those boundaries are also stretched, for example when it comes to those between journalism and communication or commerce, or between independent journalism, constructivism and activism.
A journalist must be able to collaborate with professionals from all kinds of disciplines. This applies to people directly related to their own profession as well as to other professional disciplines.
Many study programs wish to be more flexible in terms of length, content, location, exchange with other study programs and various exit profiles.
In education, much attention is paid to the responsibility (agency) of the learner, who must increasingly be given control.
Whether it concerns knowledge of target groups, methods and techniques, publishing models, technology or skills such as data scraping, visualization, the corpus of journalistic knowledge and skills is constantly growing. This is in addition to the specific knowledge the journalist should already have: knowledge of politics, economics, society, law, and the classic skills such as research, writing and entrepreneurship.