Spring 2011 - first thoughts!

If the first two weeks this semester can serve as an indication, it seems we have found the right balance for a successful South Florida News Service at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Florida International University.

The answer began when we started last summer accepting students with little experience but enough passion and enthusiasm.  They were taking Intro to Journalism with professor Allan Richards, associate dean at the school.

Now, two semesters later, student interest shows we are developing a solid structure and working cycle of reporters that could generate the foundation of the next generation of journalists.

For the first time, I visited several classes right in the beginning of the semester, received many inquires and have added about 20 new students to our team.  They come from different levels of experience and backgrounds, essential to our newsroom's balance and diversity, especially diversity of ideas.  These students bring many news stories untold and unseen by reporters in the field who no longer have enough time to “see” and look for them, which should never stop being part of our mission as journalists - as we are many times the eyes and ears of our readers and our communities.

Spring 2011 - Photo by Josh Shear

We all know journalism education has always given students the theoretical understanding of what it meant to be a reporter in the field.  But only newsroom experience would give them the necessary training to excel.  Now, with the shortage of reporters and editors, there is little time to train young reporters after graduation. They must come in with skills – both traditional and new media, enough training, ethics and the right attitude to even get an internship many times. 

Currently on the second year of the program, we seem to have found the equilibrium that reflects the professional standards required by our clients, such as The Miami Herald, The Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post, and developed a model to close the cycle from journalism education to the newsrooms.  

The structure we are building, thanks greatly to Richard’s vision to incorporate the young and inexperienced into the program, should fulfill this gap and as a result create a future that reflects the foundation of journalism for the 21^st century.

I would like to take the opportunity to welcome our new team of reporters and thank all FIU faculty and newspaper editors who are making this happen.  I hope we have a great semester!