By Kiana Magdalova

Just two modules of the Digital Journalism School have passed (the program comprises 10) but organizers decided to check their students making them hold a master-class for colleagues. This unusual test will confirm the knowledge retention and advertise the program. Our magazine in No.11, 2007 described this innovative program and we will keep an eye on its development. You can find information we get from students of Digital Journalism School on our pages in an abridged and easy-to-read form.

The master-class took place in the news-room built for digital journalism classes in Kiev-Mohyla Academy. The funds were provided by SCM's Corporate Foundation for Development of Ukraine. The picture features the cutting-edge news-room used for trainings at the moment. All convergent editorial offices are expected to be reconstructed in the similar way.

So, let’s go deeper: what is convergence? (the article uses materials and terms of professor Ogi Grant used as the basis for the above training program). One reporter producing content (products) for different media types is the core of convergence. So, he fulfils functions of a reporter, a photographer, a cameraman, a proof-reader and other editorial jobs. But a universal journalist, as said earlier, is not a one-actor theatre. This journalist can perform all tasks but must focus on the job he can do the best.

There are certain prerequisites making convergent journalism possible and inevitable for the society:
• Decline of “old media” (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV)
• New channels of communications, digital telephones, internet
• Emergence of modern media (online-media, digital broadcasting, personal content creation)
 

Interactivity

PC and internet users become the major information consumers. Since recently they can create digital content in blogs and live journals (online diaries where everybody can post video, audio, photos, and comments). Yet his modern interactivity doesn’t mean that any live journal user can write news making all professional journalists will lose jobs. On the contrary, new information demands encourage development of new professionals, so called universal journalists.

Universal journalist isn’t just a journalist with skills to do everything or almost everything for the media field. This journalist must know how to determine the channel of communicating stories to consumers and what medium is the best for a certain news or information. He works for the audience trying to satisfy its high and new information demands.
Program authors list the skills required from a universal journalist:
1.      interview 
2.      selection of facts and data
3.      audio processing
4.      video processing
5.      photography
6.      graphic design
7.      writing (writing for various media including newspapers, radio, TV, internet)

The last point is most important as despite all changes, skills to write, process facts, and communicate them to audience remain vital for a journalist. But the journalist must be able to write for different media now.

A future convergent news room looks as follows (see picture) and encourages to change roles in a converged editorial office. Editors sit at the central table (sun), while convergent journalists are placed at tables (beams). They send information to editors by beams from remote places of the office. The editors are responsible for news stories, make final decisions how to communicate information, and manage performance of journalists. This office is particularly special for constant training of employees in form of excellence courses and workshops. Roles in convergent news room cover:

• a universal journalist;
• an editor of the news flow;
• a person responsible for the story;

New journalism forms offered by program organizers look weird for a traditional editorial process player:
• additional reports (journalistic blogs, reader comments)
• photo-galleries, slide-shows
• raw just-shot videos, clips, stories
• digital broadcasting (podcasts, video podcasts).
 

It is hard to explain what a podcast is without a visual example (audio or video). But in simple words, it’s a news medley read and recorded in studio, which enables to learn latest news without TV (e.g. via mobile phone or in the car).
 

Yevgeniy Fedchenko (Director, Digital Journalism School in Kiev-Mohyla Academy), shares his views:

- Have all expectations from the Digital Journalism School been met at the moment?
- It is too late to talk about results. First students will graduate only in summer after completion of a 10-module course. But following results of the modules covered today, I can confirm that the journalists enrolled after the contest are in deed the target audience of our project. Another important factor is that our target audience will share the knowledge with other journalists and editors. Students are inspired to work better and apply new skills.

- Isn’t this school a ground to create big holdings in future owned by one person, where instructed journalists will work “within the system”?
- That’s right, in fact. Convergence exists. Whether you accept it or not, it exists today and we need to catch up with progress to meet demands of the time. I don’t think it is the best option if media companies teach their employees themselves. Being a journalist I assert this scheme is inefficient as skilled employees leave and you have to train new professionals permanently. Universities and professional schools are the place to train journalists, while media companies should work with them slightly aligning skills to their needs.

- Will the program be permanent in Ukraine?
- I have big plans for future. We are going to develop. I hope the program will be permanent and run for many years and improve regularly. Our students will make master-classes for colleagues similar to today’s session during the whole study period.
 

25.01.08