| The World Wide Web and its related technologies have significantly influenced not only the ways in which news is consumed, but also how journalism education and the ongoing training of news professionals is undertaken. This mixed-methodology study, using a Likert-scale survey and focus groups, samples the news consumption and media convergence habits of 588 undergraduates at a single university in the South. This study was undertaken for the purposes of augmenting and synthesizing the available body of knowledge surrounding contemporary journalism, both in practice and from an educational standpoint. Among this study's findings, survey responses reveal that 50% of students use the Internet for news on a daily basis. Meanwhile, focus group findings suggest most students think interactive features, such as slide shows and videos, make online news consumption more appealing than text-only news. Thus, with the faculty and leadership of many undergraduate journalism programs now grappling with curriculum issues that did not previously exist, thanks to technological advances that have altered how news is gathered and delivered, this study suggests that journalism educators initiate and participate in the discourse about media convergence, as well as enact curriculum changes that will enhance the quality of journalism education and equip students to succeed in a workplace that merges media platforms. |
