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Programming journalism: 'Literacy in technology is the baseline now for getting a job in journalism'

Journalism isn't just for journalists any more: US university Medill is offering nine fully paid scholarships for its journalism Masters programme to computer programmers and developers.

A modest number of applications have been made so far, but, as Rich Gordon (left), associate professor and director of digital media in education at Medill told Journalism.co.uk in this Q&A, the course is aimed at a niche but valuable group who will have no trouble finding work afterwards.

How popular has the course been?
We're looking for people who love programming and are good at it, but probably never considered applying their skills to the worlds of media and journalism.

There isn't an obvious place to reach these folks – they are clearly a small minority of the universe of programmer/developers. But that still means there are potentially thousands of people who meet the requirements and would get a lot out of this experience.

The world of media and journalism is changing rapidly. People who understand coding and journalism are in great demand now.

Newsrooms want journalists who can help figure out the best way to present data-driven stories on digital platforms; media companies want people who can build better systems for news production and distribution; start-up companies want developers who understand how people use and consume information.

There are endless opportunities to create new digital products that engage audiences with information that they need to be citizens.
 
How will the teaching process differ - given that the students will already be experienced programmers and coders?
The basic idea is that the 'programmer-journalists' experience the same journalism curriculum that all of our Masters students study.

They 'walk a mile in the journalists' shoes'. The theory is that in doing this, they will develop insights into the intersection of journalism and programming that they can take with them after they leave. 

There is just one curriculum requirement for these scholarship winners:  that they enrol in one of our 'innovation project' classes, in which they are part of a team charged with creating some kind of new product or technology application relevant to journalism.
 
Do you think all journalism students should have some interest/training in the basics of programming?
I do think that all journalism students should get some kind of experience/education in computer programming. But that doesn't mean I've figured out what should be taught, at what level, to which students. This scholarship program isn't trying to solve that problem: it's an effort to turn some skilled programmers into journalists and send them out into the world and do things that journalists by and large aren't doing.
 
What are the 'innovation project' classes?
The classes operate differently but share the general idea that students collaborate to build a new product or experiment with new technologies relevant to journalism.

Projects so far have included: an experiment with 'locative journalism', where a team of new media majors worked with online map mash-ups and created multimedia stories that could be delivered to a portable device based on the user's GPS coordinates.

Another group collaborated with reporting students to create a new web/print product geared to health and fitness for people in central Indiana, which is likely to be launched by the class's sponsor, the Bloomington Herald-Times.

Finally a team, including the first two programmer-journalist scholarship winners, is currently trying to develop improved forms of conversation around news. Basically, they're looking at current forms of user engagement on news sites and are aiming to build something better.  
 
Is a hybrid of journalism skills and technological know-how the ideal for a future journalist in your opinion?
'Technological know-how', or at least literacy in technology, is the baseline now for getting a job in journalism. It seems clear that the more technological proficiency you have, the more options you'll have on the job market – and the better prepared you'll be to help invent the journalism of the future.

That doesn't mean that all journalists need to be programmers. Reporters need to be expert fact-gatherers (using traditional shoe leather as well as online reporting tools) and today's reporters also need to be able to present their stories in multiple forms. 

The problem is, no matter how you slice it, I think there are going to be fewer jobs for reporters in the new world. Meanwhile, there are many new kinds of jobs being invented, as one of our journalist-programmers, Brian Boyer, has blogged.

The more the job involves digital media and online delivery, the more likely it is that the people holding those jobs will be expected to have a deep understanding of technology.
 
Are more media employers looking for these candidates and why?
People who win these scholarships will have no trouble finding work when they graduate. For them, the biggest challenge will be finding an employer who understands what's possible for one journalism-trained programmer to accomplish. 

These days, especially in traditional media, there is a risk that they will want miracles. One person, no matter how well trained in journalism and programming, won't save a newspaper – or the newspaper industry.  But I'm quite confident that someone with strong programming skills and a year of journalism studies can help a media company make enormous strides in digital content and services.

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