I heard...
While at a conference this week that tertiary-level institutions across the region (Caribbean) that train journalists are not doing a good enough job to meet the needs of the media houses and by extension the market. There were no ifs or buts about where to lay blame and point the finger.
As someone who not only practiced in this field for years but also teach in it, I strongly objected.
For far too long, media houses and the same "senior" journalists that get up at these forums to lament, cry-down and express their frustrations at the quality of our graduates do nothing to aid in the mentorship and further on-the-job training that is necessary for one to excel in this field. Everything and somethings cannot be taught in a classroom. Journalism is not exclusively learnt it a classroom, it is something lived and experienced.
As a side issue, you will notice that I put quotation marks at the word senior and this is because many of these so-called senior journalists love to boast about their years of experience but for a lot of them it is one-year of experience that is repeated for 20 and more years!!! They have not learnt or grown!
For years there have been calls for media houses to set up in-house training for young journalists and to also facilitate external training opportunities to aid in the education and growth of the profession. Apart from the in-house training, many of the seasoned and experienced journalists (note I did not say senior) seem unwilling to mentor young journalists. Yet, they join their "senior" colleagues in pointing the finger.
I am sick...
Of people not willing to accept responsibility for their own inadequacies and shortcomings. It is so much easier to blame others and point the finger.
I know...
For a fact that the unwillingness to provide further training and mentorship is out of fear, fear that the newbie is going to outshine them, fear that the newbie could replace them, fear that the newbie can teach them something, fear that they can learn something.
I am...
Not saying that our programmes are flawless but we do our best always to provide students with the necessary tools to go out into the world of work. We all have to do our part, we teach, students have to be willing to learn and employers have to be willing to step up and do their part to ensure that we have quality employees in the work place.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
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4 comments:
it's called social responsibility. many folks reach a position and do not look beyond the tips of their noses. others spend their time, energy and resources to mentor others. they give back to the next generation what someone once gave them.
it has to do with personal maturity and the willingness to learn and teach - one learns from the younger generation, and some people enjoy that part of the mentoring experience where both sides exchange knowledge and perspectives.
Why just journalism, I'm sure this happens in other fields too! There are more people eager to point fingers at mistakes and trumpet them to the whole world than there are people to explain why it's a mistake.
If you attempt to explain why you made a mistake, it's seen as an excuse - how do we correct it if we don't know why it's a mistake?
I've also seen people say "No one will teach you these things, you have to learn by yourself" and avoid the responsibility.
In this world of selfishness we must not expect any charities. There are people who will share knowledge as social responsibility yet for the large bracket of others there has to be a proper Rewards and recognition system that motivates them to share their experience and knowledge. This is called Knowledge Management.
When you read the newspapers in T&T for example, it's clear that these people who complain about the training at universities etc, come from media houses who are notorious for recruiting persons with just basic high school education, and absolutely no experience in anything (so they can pay less and get what they pay for). And then they have the gall to complain...I am sure it's the same in the rest of the region.
Of course, it's only my view as an outsider to the profession, so good to hear from your side!
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