Old Media Careers Are Obsolete In the Digital Landscape

Globally, a career in journalism today is more than just writing, editing, and reporting. According to research, many students who graduated from college a few years ago with a degree in journalism or related fields thought that their degrees would have greatly improved their job prospects, but it didn't.

In Jamaica, some graduates landed jobs in the field only because media outlets have not fully immersed their operations in digital technologies.

Currently, local and regional media entities are still producing news and broadcasting programmes using 19th-century technologies. Programmes which are the companies' biggest assets have still not been digitised for easy access. Therefore, when there is breaking news, citizens on social media broadcast first.

Our Colleges and Universities

Are Also Responsible

This is not meant to be a critique of media entities or universities, but to highlight the fact that we need to address media education and training urgently in order to prepare graduates to function effectively in the digital landscape. In the United States, social media is an integral part of sociology and anthropology college courses because social media affects all areas of our lives.

The advent of communication technologies has revolutionised the way news and information are produced. This has caused participatory media to emerge whereby private citizens who are not journalists are involved in producing content and reporting news on social media, including blogs and podcasts.

No longer do people sit and wait on major newscasts a few times per day. They are kept up-to-date with news and information from around the world every second via social media.

Understanding the role of the media in society has become essential. Therefore, educational institutions and media organisations must invest in innovative training and education to reflect growth, prepare professionals, and educate people in the communities they serve to not only consume news and information, but to understand the digital landscape in which we operate.

Students should also peruse college curricula to ensure that some key topics such as digital concepts, social, data, web, mobile, digital business, analytics, data journalism and internet history are included before deciding to pursue the degree programme, or they would not be able to successfully land a new media career.

Currently, most colleges' curricula isolate programmes. For instance, students who study journalism, communications, radio and TV, print, and public relations are all separated in their individual field of interest. In this environment, we are experiencing a paradigm shift. A lot is changing, including the way people learn and use information. Education needs to change as well as there is a sense that we are being left behind in the Caribbean. No longer should colleges train students in one specific area, but offer training that will enable aspiring media professionals to operate across multiple platforms.

Learn To Digitally Engage

By 2020, colleges and universities must move swiftly to redesign their journalism and mass communication curricula to reflect the topics discussed above. Failure to innovate may cause students to opt for local and international institutions that have already revamped their programmes to reflect the changes in the digital media landscape.

Potential journalists and media workers must be aggressive in their pursuit to acquire the knowledge and training that will equip them for media careers in the 21st century and beyond. Students are encouraged to research international internship opportunities that will enhance their studies and help prepare them for digital media careers globally.

Some students, and even media professionals, do travel overseas on holidays. Seeking an opportunity to observe a 21st-century media organisation while on vacation can greatly enhance their existing jobs or career prospects.

The digital environment is an emerging landscape that shapes communication, work, relationships, and understanding. Therefore, colleges must transition from broadcast industry and job-focused media training to a broader educational mission for media makers and citizens.

Colleges may be experiencing challenges such as outdated equipment and competent faculty in their efforts to change their curriculum, but at any cost, change must happen if they are to shape the careers of future media professionals and affect the society as a whole.

The digital landscape is not to be feared, but to be understood and embraced.

Let's embrace digital media education one student at a time.

caren55@yahoo.com