2 Week Documentary Workshop in The Mississippi Delta
Start Date:  February 15th, 2009

This 2-week DV workshop is designed for photojournalists who are looking to make the move to videojournalism and the web, new documentary filmmakers who want to launch their careers in web and television documentaries and for those with experience in some aspects of filmmaking that are looking to expand their skill, understanding and mastery of the whole process.  Producers, cinematographers, editors and writers with narrative experience who are considering working in non-fiction filmmaking are also encouraged to enroll.

Students will learn all aspects of the process including the importance of the still image, DV camera, compact lighting methods, field sound, field editing and how to weave the story.  To view an extended version of the course description, visit our website at www.barefootworkshops.org.

Link to last year’s videos:
http://www.barefootworkshops.org/alumni_gallery/MS101(2007)/MS101(2007).html

This is one of many workshops that Barefoot will be running in 2009.  In addition to the Mississippi Delta, check out our website to learn more about our workshops in Africa and how you can participate.

Homepage: www.barefootworkshops.org
Contact: chandler@barefootworkshops.org <mailto:chandler@barefootworkshops.org>
Tuition: $2,250.00 (includes tuition, housing and food)

Past Equipment Sponsors:  Apple, Canon, Tekserve, Bogen, Gitzo, Kata, Tiffen, Sennheiser, Anton Bauer, Lowel, D&M Professional

Barefoot Workshops is a New York City-based not-for-profit 501(c)3, founded by Chandler Griffin in 2004, that offers short, intensive workshops around the world in narrative and documentary filmmaking. We assist organizations and individuals to use media, music and the arts, to accelerate progress and program goals in areas such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, conflict resolution, resettlement, youth empowerment, civil rights, and democracy building. We have worked with partners as diverse as UNESCO, Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, The U.S. State Department and The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), to pioneer new formats and “media templates” that reinforce citizen-led, community-owned solutions to these challenges.

The main goal of Barefoot Workshops is to equip students with the knowledge and confidence to use sophisticated equipment while having a foundation that allows a person to create beautiful images regardless of the tools. At Barefoot, growing and learning as a filmmaker means growing and learning as an individual.

It is a week-long training sessions for mid-career journalists wishing to advance their multimedia skills. The workshops combine instruction in multimedia storytelling and hands-on multimedia news production. There are a total of 40 fellowship positions available (20 per workshop) for the sessions being offered in January and March 2008. Applicants may apply to one or both workshops. Applicants are encouraged to apply for multiple workshops to increase their chances of being accepted into one of them. COMPLETED APPLICATIONS FOR BOTH WORKSHOPS MUST BE RECEIVED BY NOVEMBER 14, 2008.

The fellowship covers all lodging, meals and instruction costs. Cost of travel to the workshop must be paid by the applicant’s news organization. An online application form and instructions are available at: http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/training
]]> http://multimediaevangelist.com/2008/11/11/multimedia-reporting-and-convergence-workshop/feed/ 0 digitalethics http://multimediaevangelist.com/2008/08/14/platypus-workshop/ http://multimediaevangelist.com/2008/08/14/platypus-workshop/#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:16:46 +0000 David Nolan http://multimediaevangelist.wordpress.com/?p=232 ]]> My recent postings on the Platypus workshop have been taken down due to proprietary issues. Suffice it to say that if you ever get the chance to go to the Playtpus workshop you should take it. It was one of the best experiences I have had at a workshop in a long time and one of the most intense. If folks had listened to Dirck and PF more than 10 years ago newspapers would be in a much better way right now. There is one more workshop in Chicago this year and slots are still available.

I think the course was well worth it. There were only 4 people in the course learning (2 photogs & 2 editors) and 5 people teaching. The tutors put in as much time as we needed & stayed working with us at night till we all couldn’t stay awake (not an exaggeration.) The time on the course was superbly budgeted – classroom learning was kept to a minimum; it was all about learning-by-doing supplemented by notes you could read in more detail at a later point. I think MediaStorm is doing some of the best multimedia out there, so just picking up their way of doing things was valuable in itself… There’s no correct formula with a lot of stuff, so it’s good to have someone who really knows what they’re doing give you a formula to start with + all their notes on Final Cut Pro settings to use etc which are appropriate for web journalism. I’d read documentary filmmaking, final cut pro, cinematography, film editing, radio production, BBC TV training books in the last year in an effort to try to get up to speed with the skills I might need for the future. This course really pulled it all together for me in a way which made sense & gave me a lot of confidence – not that I know a lot, but that I have a lot to learn & at least I think I’m on the right track for now! Hopefully I’ll be able to get a chance to do some more multimedia in between the day-to-day necessary parts of my job.

From the Barefoot Workshops website:

CONTENT
This 2-week delta workshop is designed for new documentary filmmakers who want to launch their careers in film and television documentaries or for those with experience in some aspects of filmmaking that are looking to expand their skill, understanding and mastery of the whole process. producers, cinematographers, editors and writers with narrative experience who are considering working in non-fiction filmmaking are also encouraged to enroll. This workshop is ideal for working professionals who want to develop important skills, which will allow them to work with other filmmakers.

In this unique workshop, students will explore every aspect of documentary filmmaking. Cinematographer, Chandler Griffin, will help you develop an understanding for the visual structure, style, and production requirements of a wide variety of documentaries along with storytelling and the art of writing and directing. This will include laying a visual foundation by spending many hours exploring how light, composition, and emotion make up the image. Many different lighting techniques and styles will be covered. Chandler will also be covering all editing demos using Final Cut Pro. Using case studies along with student’s ideas, the goal of the course is to provide an intense overview of the art of documentary productions. Every student will learn how to evaluate non-fiction ideas, create their own ideas and develop an understanding of documentary film aesthetics and the storytelling process.<

THE PROGRAM
The workshop meets formally 6 days each week. There will be lectures, screenings, presentations, technical demos, a review and critique of all dailies, supervised editing sessions, discussion of documentaries, and individual meetings with the Chandler. The workshop combines lectures and presentations with supervised and formal instruction in production laboratories (camera, lighting, sound, editing), shooting on location, transcribing, screening and discussion of current and classic documentaries, meetings with visiting filmmakers and written assignments. Students will write and develop proposals for future projects.

PRODUCTION
The workshop will break into groups with each group producing a completed 7 to 10 minute piece shot on digital video and edited with Final Cut Pro. Students will meet and scout their subjects and write treatments and outlines to guide their production. from there they will conduct interviews, tape B-roll and coverage for a sequence, record sound and take their material into post-production. There they will be instructed in creating first an edit on paper, then on the computer, where after assembly into a final edit, they will color correct, mix sound and add titles to their finished work. The projects will encompass the diversity of documentary styles and allow the individual the chance to problem-solve by learning to work as a team.

PRESENTATION
On the last night of the workshops the documentaries will be screened for the community to enjoy. The filmmakers are encouraged to invite family and friends. Because of the full support of The Mississippi Film Commission, documentaries produced with Barefoot Images are automatically accepted for a special screening at the Crossroads International Film & Video Festival in Jackson, Mississippi, and students are encouraged to submit to other festivals around the world.

Chandler Griffin/Barefoot Workshops
917-385-9343
chandler@barefootworkshops.com
Brooke Bassin/Barefoot Workshops
Brooke.bassin@barefootworkshops.org

5. Four Channel Split Audio Output
4. Finding Used/Unused Clips
3. Multiclip Redigitizing
2. Adjusting Your Audio Levels – Relative vs. Absolute
1. Copy /Pasting Attributes

I just got back from Dallas after interviewing David Leeson at the Dallas Morning News. David is always inspirational and I’m so pleased he has agreed to be part of my research and documentary. He is currently working on his film “At War” with Scott Kesterson and teaching video to photojournalists at the paper. Earlier in the week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Eli Reed and interviewing him as well. Eli is teaching at the University of Texas Austin and is also working on a documentary. And just a few weeks ago I was able to interview Billy Calzada at the San Antonio Express News. Billy is at the forefront of the changes going on in photojournalism today and, like all of us, is struggling with adapting to this new way of telling stories.

A thread that has been consistent from each person is that multimedia is here to stay. That it is time to get over the battle that has raged over whether it is a good thing or not. The people we are trying to reach with our stories are using this technology and we need to adapt to this trend. It doesn’t mean that we abandon anything about who we are as storytellers. If anything, multimedia gives our stories tremendous depth and allows us to explore issues in greater detail. Technology, whether a still camera or a video camera, is just that, technology. It is what we do with that tool to tell compelling stories that is most important.

Technology has always been there. For the past thirty years we have made tremendous leaps forward in what our equipment can do and how we distribute the news. The constant is our ability tell stories in a way that grabs the reader by the throat and doesn’t let go. Video does not change that.

Executive Summary
The news industry faces seismic changes as the Internet transforms the market and the competitive climate for news and information. Traditional news media organizations must aggressively adapt their business models to stay relevant in this evolving marketplace. And they must become effective and nimble innovators – able to rapidly and continually develop new products, services, distribution mechanisms, business models, strategies and revenue streams in response to or in anticipation of changes in the competitive landscape, consumer preference and technologies. And non-traditional or “emerging” news companies — those that have entered the world of gathering, producing and distributing news and information since the dawn of the World Wide Web — need to be on guard so they don’t lose their natural innovative abilities as they grow. So this report is designed to help both new and old media companies identify and aggressively redefine business models, create dynamic processes, develop flexible organizations and inspire vital leadership to navigate industry changes ahead.

Comparison of Camera vs. Boom Microphone: Here’s a quick comparison I did of recording dialog with an MKH60 Shotgun Microphone mounted on a camera vs. mounted on a boom.

The Blogging Scholarship
Is Your Blog Worthy of a $10,000 Scholarship? Do you maintain a weblog and attend college? Would you like $10,000 to help pay for books, tuition, or other living costs? If so, read on. We’re giving away $10,000 this year to a college student who blogs. The Blogging Scholarship is awarded annually.

Scholarship Requirements:

• Your blog must contain unique and interesting information about you and/or things you are passionate about. No spam bloggers please!
• U.S. citizen
• Currently attending full-time in post-secondary education
• If you win, you must be willing to allow us to list your name and blog on this page. We want to be able to say we knew you before you became a well educated, rich, and famous blogging legend.

Important Dates:

• Submission Deadline: Midnight PST on Oct. 6th
• 10 Finalists Announced and Public Voting Begings: 9am EST on Oct. 8th
• Public Voting Ends and Winner Declared: Midnight PST on Oct. 28th

I want to talk first about the recent presentation made by Pauline Lubens at the Women in Photojournalism conference in Austin a few weeks ago. To me, Pauline had the most compelling story to tell about the changes we are facing and its relevance to her current documentary work.

Pauline has been a staff photographer for the San Jose Mercury News since 2000. She was at the Detroit Free Press for seventeen years before that. Pauline has covered the war in Iraq twice, focusing on the impact of the war on Iraqi civilians. She was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist twice — in 1991 for a team entry documenting the U.S. visit of South African leader Nelson Mandela and in 2004 for a team entry covering the California Recall election.

Pauline started off her presentation with a comparison of old and new ways of presenting stories. A picture of gaffer-tapped black boards with prints mounted to them flashed up on the screen and she made the point that this was only a few years ago and that, “Now three years later, the evolutionary arc has shot straight up vertical.”

After starting to use sound with her photography presentations a few years ago she now feels that the element that has been missing from her previous work (sound) has now become integral to the way she tells stories. However, she said that the one thing that hasn’t changed, even though we do audio, video, we have new gadgets, and new presentation platforms, is great storytelling.

“It can be pretty daunting, but for me the key is still about storytelling. My approach hasn’t changed, how I do stories, how I get access hasn’t changed. How I think about my approach for what tools I’m going to use has changed,” she said.

She said that some people in photojournalism are wedded to their identities and feel that, “I’m a still photographer, I don’t shoot video, I wasn’t hired to record audio or do interviews.” Pauline is always surprised by statements like that. She says that she feels completely rejuvenated by doing multimedia.

“I’m 51-years-old and I feel like a kid again. That’s good news and bad news. I feel more energized about work than I have in along time. Everything seems really new and I also get to be a workaholic again. I feel like I have a whole lot to learn and it has been very exciting. It is a creative feast. But it can be really scary,” she said.

Pauline said that for her multimedia has given her new elements that she can add to her stories that give them greater depth. “Not only can I put a human face on stories that I have a passion to tell I can give them a human voice as well.” However, despite all the changes with multimedia Pauline hasn’t strayed far from her roots. Most of her work still contains about 70 percent stills and 30 percent video—only shooting video when it’s called for. One of the things she loves about multimedia is the control she is able to exercise over her work.

“Photographers are always complaining that we don’t have control over how our pictures get used. Well, I get to do it all myself and I don’t play well with other children,” she joked. Pauline’s latest story on U.S. Army Sgt. Frank Sandoval titled “Frank’s Fight” had a profound effect on everyone in the room. (A shout out to Richard Koci Hernandez as well who did much of the technical work on the site). It is the story of an Army survivor of a roadside bomb attack in Iraq who had severe brain trauma and his personal and family struggles to regain his life. The story took a recent tragic turn when Frank Sandoval passed away after another surgery to repair his battered body.

The story had a tremendous personal impact on Pauline—and everyone in the audience. The story is powerful and shows the ability of stills, video and sound to bring greater depth to our storytelling capabilities.

“Multimedia is a wonderful evolving thing. Photojournalists for the first time are taking the lead. What we are doing for the web now is visually driven. This is a very interesting time and I encourage you to take the lead, take control, and take the leap into it,” Pauline concluded.

One of the more interesting parts that I drew from Pauline’s talk and her work was the power that we have as visual storytellers. One of the most talked about directions and benchmarks for our new work in multimedia is to emulate the television news model with a few tweaks. To use shorter pieces and cover more breaking news to cater to an audience that has a short attention span.

I disagree. I feel we should be going more toward the documentary filmmaking model. To create longer more in-depth pieces like Pauline’s that use a combination of video and stills to tell a story that develops over time and explores the human condition. There will always be a need for the shorter pieces, but many of them could easily be told with a few still images and audio. However, it’s the long form documentary that has the power to hold a person’s attention and keep them watching until the end. My ten cents worth of opinion but you’ll probably see more stories here that help us to explore this issue in greater depth.

I’ll post a second piece on the workshop as soon as time and work constraints permit.

The Cutting Edge IX: The Order of the Edit
Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee
September 8th 2007

Less than a 2 weeks before the Cutting Edge IX: Order of the Edit, the annual NPPA workshop with an emphasis in editing, lands in Nashville Tennessee. Belmont University ’s New Century Journalism Program has graciously offered the Bunch Multimedia Hall, 2nd Floor Library, as the location for the seminar. It will be a place to gather, to learn, to meet fellow journalists and to listen to The Cutting Edge Faculty of Matt Rafferty, Lou Davis and Shawn Montano as they discuss: The Art of Natural Sound, Opening and Closing Shots, Keeping Your Editing Sharp and Separating Yourself from the Group. Matt, Shawn and Lou will bring insight to each topic. The seminar will kick off with a meet and greet Friday night, September 7th. Then on Saturday we start the seminar at 8am and go to 9pm. Critique sessions will be offered throughout the day. There will be a 2 hour lunch in which there will be breakout sessions. Our host hotel is The Courtyard Nashville Marriott, 2508 Elm Hill Pike, Nashville TN 37214 Call 615-883-9500 by August 17th and ask for NPPA Room Block rate of $90.00. For more information contact Shawn Montano, Director of The Cutting Edge, at shawnmontano@gmail.com.
You can also read more about the seminar at: http://nppa.org/professional_development/workshops_and_seminars/cutting_edge/

and check out the Cutting Edge blog at: http://cuttingedgeix.bloggerarea.com/

Thursday, August 23, 2007 Fall 2007 HD for Indies Interns Needed Hey all – The summer intern program went so well, I want to keep it going. I need some interns for the fall semester. If you’re a student at the University of Texas at Austin, ACC, St. Ed’s, or someone who has time to spend a few hours a day learning but not earning, this is a great opportunity for you. I specifically am looking for technically savvy, fast learning folks who know or want to know more about production and post production, I need at least one web intern who will get to work with me on site content and revisions and Special Projects. Mac centric pretty much required – you need to know what you’re doing on a Mac, and quite a bit about Final Cut Pro. Bonus features – this semester will be the one where I get my Very Own Personal Red Camera and Redcine, and there will be opportunities to work with it and footage from it. I have all the toys, I get to review all the new toys, you’ll get to see/touch/play with it all. I’m happy to make certain resources readily available to you as my work permits. In return, I need help on testing, profiling, and reviewing gear, Special Projects, and ideally I’m looking for a 5 day a week, 3-4 hour/day commitment if at all possible from each intern, or enough interns to fill up the time slots. Candidates with stronger technical and/or writing skills will be favored. Drop me an email at mike [at] hdforindies [dot] com with “Fall Intern” in the subject line if you’re interested.

Top Ten Mistakes of Rookie Filmmakers
by Bill Pryor
Nobody can can cover everything you need to know in a short article, but I can point out the ten most common mistakes I see over and over.

Bad sound. You probably thought I was going to say underexposed images or something like that, but bad sound gets my vote for the Number One spot. Here is one film making lesson you need to hammer into your consciousness permanently: Just because they put a microphone on the camera doesn’t mean you’re supposed to use it. A camera-mounted mic is acceptable for recording ambient sound, such as traffic noise. It can be used for shooting an interview IF the interviewee is talking right into the lens and you have the camera about 2 feet in front of their nose. Except for very rare circumstances, you can’t shoot sound with the camera mic…ever. To do it right you need a shotgun mic, a fishpole (boom) and a soundman. A good soundman will try to keep the mic barely out of the frame, just over the subject’s head, generally within two feet or less. Not always possible, but a good soundman can always find a way to make it work. Sometimes a lav mic is better. Sometimes more than one mic will be needed. Professional soundmen carry suitcases full of different mics. If you’re on a budget you can get by with one or two. It is possible to get good sound with a $300 mic. Better quality mics are, of course, more expensive; but I’ll take a cheap mic and a good soundman over a good mic and no soundman any day.

Auto focus. This should be obvious, but those new to the business don’t think about it. Most auto focus systems are center-weighted. That means the camera will focus on what takes up most of the middle of the frame. If you compose your subject in the middle, with auto focus on, and you pan off him a little for a nice composition, the focus will shift. In more years of shooting than I care to acknowledge, I have used auto focus only one time. It has its place; it can be useful. But only in very limited circumstances.

Auto iris. This is one that will drive any video editor with experience into a screaming psychotic episode. You pan off the subject and the iris shifts to open up 3 stops for the dark background. Or, you follow the subject as he walks in front of a window and the iris stops down as the scene is suddenly dark. In the worst case a dark car goes through your scene and the auto iris shifts to accommodate the dark mass of the car, then just as quickly shifts back. Doesn’t seem like a problem until you need to apply color or exposure correction in post and have to adjust the application every time the exposure twitches in a scene. Trust me, your editor will hate you. You won’t see it happen in the viewfinder but it’s hard to miss on the big screen. You can use auto iris to set an exposure if you zoom in to a neutral reflectance subject, such as a standard 18% gray card, or light blue shirt, etc., but then turn it off. There’s an interesting thing I’ve noticed about the lower end cameras–the cheaper the camera the better the auto iris usually works. It’s made for the home movie maker, not for the professional. Like auto focus, there may be some circumstances in which it can be useful–TV news for example. But not for most types of production.

Auto gain/auto shutter. Similar problem to leaving the auto iris on. If you shoot with the auto gain on, suddenly you may find that your picture goes soft and grainy. High gain is something to be avoided most of the time, unless you’re after an effect or shooting TV news. If you have to use high gain, do it manually. Turn the auto thing off. Same for the shutter. It takes time and control of the lighting but you’ll have a more consistent product when finished.

Auto audio gain. Same thing for audio. Again, all these automatic functions have their place and can be used sometimes…just not in a serious production. Some camcorders actually have fairly decent auto gain, and recently I was in a shooting situation in which I had to use it. It was OK but not great. I wouldn’t do it on a paying job.

Bad composition. You can always spot the amateur: Too much head room, the subject is almost always centered and sometimes too much foreground. Go to the library and get some books about composition. Go to the movies and critically analyze the cinematography and camera positions. Pay attention to when to use a higher angle and when to use a low shot.

Zooms. Nothing says “amateur home movie” or “cheap corporate video” like a bang-bang zoom. If you’re shooting interviews and want to change focal length, try do do it during pauses. Or be sure you know you have or will be able to get cutaways to cover the zoom. The only place it’s sometimes okay to use a quick zoom is a music video and even there it’s frequently over-used. If you must zoom, try to always shoot several seconds of head and tail on each shot. That way the editor can cut the zoom out and go from the long shot to the closeup and, maybe, make the shot work.

Shaky cam syndrome. Get a tripod. Something else to burn in your filmmaker psyche: A hand held shot is a special effect. Just because it worked in the Blair Witch Project, doesn’t mean it will work for you. True, the popular 1/3″ chip professional cameras all have optical image stabilization (OIS) and it will help smooth out your shot, but it’s not a tripod. If you want a hand held effect, fine. But don’t shoot hand held because you’re too lazy to set up a tripod. Sometimes you have to shoot hand held, and I can live with that, but if you have to do so, keep the lens wide. The more you zoom in, the worse your shaky cam symptoms will be. This is why Hollywood professionals spend thousands of dollars on steady-mounts and dollies. Basically a tripod that moves. You don’t have to spend thousands. I’ve seen wheelchairs, grocery carts, and wagons used as dollies. I’ve seen them made out of old skateboard wheels and PVC pipe. But there’s a reason the pros think they’re so important.

Bad lighting. Generally, it’s the straight on deer-in-the headlights approach, if there’s any at all. Flat lighting, no back lights or kickers, no fills or reflectors. Mixing color temperatures and bulb types. Again, watch films and pay attention. Go to the Lowell Lighting website and order Russ Lowell’s book about lighting. Lighting is the most important part of a picture and the second most neglected part of film making after sound. Lighting is an art form. Everything in this list so far is in the realm of technology, lighting is where you get to the craftsmanship. Where the art meets the technology. You can learn it, you have to if you want any chance of selling the end product. Another one of those little video lessons to remember is: Where you don’t put the light is as important as where you put the mic.

Blown out backgrounds. A blown out background, in soft focus, filtered, can be an effect. But in many cases it’s simply bad exposure. That’s what lights and gels are for. In a documentary you can get by with it more than in a feature film, but if all your shots are blown out, it will help unsell your story.

OK, that’s my top 10. Others may have more. I started out with bad sound as Number One because I probably hear more bad sound than bad anything else. The other items aren’t necessarily in a particular order. Bad sound stands out above all the rest so strongly that I felt compelled to give it a big Number One position in my list. Remember it’s an audio-visual medium. Audio and video are equal. -more

I was very impressed and moved with Pauline Lubens, staff photojournalist for the San Jose Mercury News, and her multimedia documentary about a soldier wounded in Iraq, “Frank’s Fight” (which won first place in the Best Multimedia Package in the small website division for the NPPA). I told Pauline she needs to take this story further and put together a documentary. I’ll talk about this later and what I think we should be considering when producing this type of package.

The panel discussion with editors from five large market papers was very enlightening, especially concerning multimedia and newsroom training. I’ll write a separate article on that event.

There were multiple discussions on technique, technology, and ethics concerning multimedia with television photographers sharing their thoughts on the direction they are taking as well as sharing what newspaper photographers shooting video and gathering sound should consider. A very interesting discussion on ethics took place and I’ll talk about that in a future column.

As I decompress and process what I saw and heard this weekend, I’ll write about the sessions I attended. I start teaching the fall semester this week and need to prepare for classes, but I promise more in-depth reports throughout the week.

Compensation is also decreasing with the median salary for journalists working for the daily newspaper industry declining by nearly $1,000 compared with salaries earned by graduates with similar jobs a year earlier. It would be interesting to find out how people in the multimedia end of the media business are faring in terms of compensation. The study did note that salaries were above the overall median salary of $30,000 for graduates taking jobs with specialized information publishing and online publishing but didn’t specify the exact job position.

There was no mention of anyone using web video. However, “Nearly six in 10 of the graduates reported feeling they had the ability to write for the web, and about four in 10 said they had the ability to edit for the web, to use the web for reporting, and to use still photographs on the web. About three in 10 said they had the ability to do web layout and design, do graphics for the web, and use web software. Only one in 10 said they had the ability to do web animation. Of the graduates, 17.1% said they had none of these abilities on graduation,” according to the report.

According to Lee Becker, director of the Cox Center and professor of journalism in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication:

“The percentage of 2006 journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients with at least one job offer on graduation was 76 percent, comparable to the figure of a year earlier. The percentage of master’s degree recipients with at least one job offer on graduation was 72 percent, also comparable to the previous year. At the same time, salaries for graduates with full-time jobs did increase and even managed to outpace inflation just slightly. Benefits, however, showed a marked decline. Only half of the journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients with a job in communication were working a 40-hour week. A quarter reported working between 41-50 hours per week. One trend in the work environment of the journalism and mass communication graduates seems quite distinct and likely to continue. Graduates find themselves in jobs where work involving the web is a quite prominent part of the routine. Graduates use the web to obtain materials for the various types of reports they produce. And they use the web to distribute the materials they produce. The field has become more web centered in recent years, and it will almost certainly become even more so in the future.”

Summary of 2006 Graduate Survey Results

• Only 3.1% of the journalism and mass communication graduates in 2006 had no job interviews as they entered the market.
• The percentage of 2006 journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients with at least one job offer on graduation was 76.2, comparable to the figure of a year earlier.
• On October 31, 2006, 63.7% of the journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients from the past spring held a full-time job, and 11.9% had a part-time job. These figures are statistically comparable with the figures from a year earlier.
• The percentage of master’s degree recipients with at least one job offer on graduation in 2006 was 72.2, statistically consistent with the estimate from a year earlier.
• On October 31 of 2006, 64.8% of the master’s degree recipients had a full-time job; that figure in 2005 was 65.7%.
• For the women, the market remained largely unchanged from a year earlier, while for men the market was weaker.
• The gap between the experiences of bachelor’s degree recipients who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups and those who are not also persisted in 2006. Students who are members of minority groups had a harder time finding a job.
• Four in 10 of the 2006 journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients with a job in communication reported that at least part of their assignment involved writing and editing for the web, an increase from 2005.
• The percentage of graduates reporting that they are designing and building web pages also increased in 2006.
• Only half of the journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients in 2006 with a job in communication were working a 40-hour week when they returned the survey instrument. A quarter were working between 41 and 50 hours.
• Median salaries for journalism and mass communication graduates, both at the bachelor’s and master’s degree level, increased by $1,000 in 2006 compared with a year earlier. The increase was just enough to keep up with inflation.

This doesn’t mean we have abandoned critical thinking skills, we don’t want to be a trade school, but we are emphasizing to our students that they will need these new skills if they want to be employable after graduation. One thing I always tell a room full of students is that if the hiring decision comes down to you and one other person, and you have those technical skills, your chances of being hired are greater.
Case in point. A recent article by Elizabeth Redden from Inside Higher Ed states that:

“… even the smallest commercial newspapers, with 10,000 readers or fewer, are looking for reporting candidates with experience writing for the Web and uploading stories to the Internet, according to a survey of newspaper managing editors conducted by Wendelken and Toni B. Mehling of James Madison University. Of nine respondents in the ‘large daily newspaper’ category (those with a circulation of 44,000 and above), eight required reporters to have skills in capturing audio while four required audio editing skills. Five required reporters to have skills in capturing video, while one required video editing expertise. Major newspapers, said Wendelken, ‘are looking at reporters to do these things from the start.’”

For many schools that want to teach multimedia courses it comes down to the cost of equipment to outfit students and experienced faculty. We have more than 1,800 students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University. It would be impossible for us to equip even a quarter of that population. So we have equipment sharing for certain courses, and the university has a pool of equipment that all students can checkout and use. We get by on older equipment and show students how to work around many of the technological problems they may encounter. Just like news organizations, we don’t like to invest in expensive equipment that may be obsolete in short order.

An interesting point coming out of the research as well is that students, not just some faculty, are resistant to change. Redden quotes David Wendelken, an associate professor of journalism at James Madison University, who said that, “A lot of college students select their medium in high school. When they come onto campus, they’re already a TV person or a radio person or a newspaper person. I’m a print journalist. Why do I need to learn video?”

The big misconception out there is that this generation is tech savvy and computer literate. The real truth is that many of them only know how to surf the web and send a text message. Hardly the skills necessary in today’s world. I can’t count the number of times I have heard students say, “I’m computer illiterate.” These are 18 and 19-year-olds who we thought grew up with a computer in their crib.

Journalism schools must continue to strive forward, to teach the necessary critical thinking and technological skills that journalists need to function in today’s world. We are doing our part and most journalism schools are adapting to the changes happening in media today. We want our students to succeed.