University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 1997 Too many students, not enough jobs?: a comparative study of Australian journalism programs Roger Martindale Patching University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] TOO MANY STUDENTS, NOT ENOUGH JOBS?: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISM PROGRAMS UNIVERSiTY Of WOLLONGOfsICi ttanAiy A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree Master of Arts (Honours) from University of Wollongong by Roger Martindale Patching, BA (Qld) GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM, FACULTY OF CREATIVE ARTS 1997. CERTIFICATION I certify that the work analysed in the thesis titled "Too many students, not enough jobs?; a comparative study of Australian journalism education" is entirely my own work. References to the work of others are identified in the text. This work has not been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma at any other university. Roger Patching February 1997 ABSTRACT TOO MANY STUDENTS, NOT ENOUGH JOBS?: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISM EDUCATION By the late 1990's, Australia had become one of the largest providers of academic journalism education in the world. More than half of Australia's universities offered courses in journalism practice and studies. This educational phenomenon occurred largely in the late 1980's and through the 1990's as university administrators searched assiduously for new growth areas to offset dwindling numbers in traditional areas of academic study. In early 1997, 22 of Australia's 37 univesities offered vocationally-oriented journalism courses, and more were projected. In conjunction with the rapid growth of communications courses in the years following World War 11, and the surge of interest in cultural studies from the early 1990's, journalism represented a booming sub-sector in an educational market where many traditional areas were losing student appeal. This thesis does not try to account for the journalism phenomenon in Australian tertiary education, or to predict its future in any detail. Basically, it has two objectives: (1) to provide an overview of the organisation, content and professionalism of journalism educastion as it had evolved by the late 1990's; (2) to assess the validity of the outcomes of journalism education in the context of an increasingly diversified job market and the certainty of rapid change in the professional role of the traditional journalist. The principal methodological tool employed in this analysis has been a comprehensive survey of each of all 22 journalism courses functioning in 1995-96. Chapter 1 considers previous attempts to survey and synthesise the contemporary history and development of journalism education in Australia. It briefly lists and summarises the work of a number of previous analysts, pointing to the merits of these approaches while concluding that in total they provided l;ittle relevant guidance to the overall organisation and content of specific courses. The chapter also describes in some detail the character and dimensions of the survey of 22 courses undertaken by the candidate. (Complete details of the survey questionnaire and the analysis based on it are set out in Appendices 1 and 2/). In Chapter 2, the evolution of journalism education from the early 1970's to the late 1990's is outlined. It considers the location of the courses in the context of state boundaries and regional identifications, noting particularly distortions in the provision of courses across Australia, such as the concentration of a disproportionate number of courses relative to population in South East Queensland. It suggests a picture of often irrational development with a glut of courses at some points and none in others; for example, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Chapter 3 provides a comparative content analysis of existing courses, looking at a number of key variables including number of subjects, breakdown of compulsory and elective subjects, split of subjects between theory and practice, representation of crucial areas of professional journalism, such as law and ethics, existence of practical outlets such as newspapers and broadcast programs, industry and union support, access to professional equipment, opportunities for professional experience and internships. Chapter 4 looks in more detail at supply and demand factors in the functioning of journalism education. In short, it tries to match the demand for journalism courses, as reflected in student entry and number of graduates with the supply of jobs in the news media industry. Using estimates prepared by other analyists as a starting point, the candidate applies material collected from his survey to predict the annual number of graduates from journalism courses relative to the number of new job opporunities emerging each year in mainstream news media. He concludes that there is a significant imbalance, with the number of graduates exceeding available new jobs by a factor of three to one. It is also noted that part of the shortfall in undoubtedly taken up by new areas of journalistic employment such as desktop publishing, internet services, and other multi-media production. Chapter Five considers the staffing of journalism courses, the experience and quahfications of journaUsm educators, and their workloads. The analysis detects a gradual increase in the size of the journalism education cadre and, more directly, in their qualifications and teaching expertise. It finds, however, that journalism courses and inevitably under-staffed relative to the workload of colleagues in other disciplines, and that their work if often under-valued by the news media industry. Chapter 6 draws together the principal findings of the survey, offering a brief over-view of the current circumstances of journalism education in a context of increasing administrative turbulence and volatility in conceptual approaches to the role of Australian universities and what should be taught in them. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My principal debt is to the 25 course co-ordinators and senior journalism academics from 22 Australioan universities who contributed to the survey on which this thesis is based. I thank the School of communications at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, and the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of Wollongong for administrative and financial support. Contents Page Certification 1 Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 6 Contents 7 Abbreviations 8 CHAPTER ONE - Introduction 9 CHAPTER TWO - Three Decades of Journalism Education in Australia 26 CHAPTER THREE - Comparing the Courses 46 CHAPTER FOUR - How many study journalism in Australia and where do they find work? 94 CHAPTER FIVE - Who Are the Teachers? 115 CHAPTER SIX - Conclusions and Discussion 134 BIBLIOGRAPHY 143 Appendix 1 - The Questionnaire Appendix 2 - Diagramatic Representations of all Courses Abbreviations: AATEJ Australian Association for Tertiary Education in Journalism ABC Australian Broadcasting Commission ACEJMC Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (US) ACIJ Australian Centre for Independent Journalism AEJMC Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication AJA Australian Journalists Association CAE College of Advanced Education CAR Computer Assisted Reporting CBAA Community Broadcasting Association of Australia CQU Central Queensland University CSU Charles Sturt University DEET Department of Employment, Education and Training DEETYA Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs DTP Desktop Publishing EFl'SU Effective Full Time Student Units ENG Electronic News Gathering FARB Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters HTML Hypertext markup language (for Internet home pages) lAE Institute of Advanced Education JEA Journalism Education Association JET Journalism