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The disruption in the economic models of news organizations, rippling out from the United States to Europe and elsewhere, is well documented. The media industry missed the inflection point when things started to change more than 20 years ago. Media companies have been disrupted by innovation created by others, by new organizations and technology companies. The media industry did not respond well to these disruptive technologies that took away the economic foundation upon which journalism depended. The industry, as a whole, did not innovate to serve its audiences and missed the opportunity to make important changes. Journalism education is at its own inflection point. Whether you are an educator, school administrator, run a training center or are just interested in journalism, this is a critical time for journalism education, as critical as it was for media industry 20 years ago. Without a robust future for journalism education, it is harder to see a robust future for journalism. And that’s bad for democracy and for citizens who depend on fair and accurate information. We have learned that media companies cannot cut their way out of the disruption in the economic models. Journalism education cannot teach its way to the future.
Source: poynter.org