Note: This is the fourth edition in a 38-week series about important lessons I've learned about journalism/new media. To read previous editions in the series, click here. Also, to take a quick, anonymous survey about whether you would pay to read news online, click here. Please share that survey link on Facebook and Twitter.
A quick survey of my students several semesters ago revealed an interesting fact about the undergrads' career interests. Out of the 15 students, two were interested in print journalism, seven were interested in broadcast journalism, three were interested in marketing and/or public relations, and three were interested in law. Since then, about one-fifth of the students in my journalism classes every semester have expressed an interest in attending law school.
I suspect the trends in my classrooms are not isolated to one particular university, but are in fact present at many universities across the United States that house journalism schools. Simply put, a journalism degree is becoming one of the more popular pre-law undergraduate pursuits in the country. The similarities between the two fields are obvious, so it is no wonder that tomorrow's lawyers are first choosing to build key skills in journalism classrooms.
In the journalism classes I teach, my students are taught how to conduct interviews, how to document individuals' statements, how to write using correct grammar and punctuation, how to build arguments that incorporate both facts and opinions from others, how to conduct research using scholarly publications and online sites, and how to investigate a story from its early stages all the way to its conclusion. Those same skills are used in a courtroom.
This past summer, I served on two juries in cases that lasted several days. One took place in civil court and the other in criminal court. On the first day of each case, we were all handed a notepad, which was about the same size as the one I used for three years as a full-time newspaper reporter nearly a decade ago. During the course of the two separate trials, I found myself taking lengthy notes just as I did during my reporter days.
As my month of jury duty progressed, I noticed the lawyers often taking just as many notes, if not more, than I did. I observed them as they questioned witnesses, often referring to statements made previously in the trial and exploring different angles of the case that I hadn't even thought about. Much like how journalism students are instructed to do their background research before an interview, the lawyers knew what was coming before witnesses even spoke.
As journalism changes due to new technology and shifting consumer demands, the importance of journalism schools continues to grow. Journalism schools are seeing an enrollment boost, and more and more students are choosing to apply skills learned in the classroom to careers that have nothing to do with traditional media outlets. Journalism educators should be proud of the fact that they are training individuals who will go on to participate in our justice system.
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