Every semester in my introductory course in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s journalism school, I ask the students to introduce themselves and tell me their dream job. I get my fair share of professional athlete or Broadway star. But in the last few years, I’ve heard what feels like an increasing number of dreams the journalism world needs: start my own media business.
One delightful young woman I met last week dreams of starting a magazine for minority teenage girls that helps them build a positive self-image. I was proud to look her in the eye and say, “Don’t just dream that. I want you to do it.”
Already bruised and stretched trying to keep up with seismic shifts in industry and new technologies, journalism programs across the country have another pressing demand: How can we foster entrepreneurial thinking among our students? How do we stoke a startup fire in them? We have to train them to adapt to jobs that may not yet exist. Can we also build opportunities for them to create those very jobs?
This week on MediaShift, our Education section will feature stories on teaching entrepreneurship and building a startup mentality. That mindset usually begins with identifying a problem you want to solve and always includes hard work and adaptability. You might be surprised how much of that educators already have built into their courses.
Series posts:
J-School Educators Dive into Startup Culture, by Michelle Ferrier
Pitch Perfect: Selling Startups at Entrepreneurship Boot Camp, by Rachele Kanigel
10 Important Tips on Teaching Entrepreneurship, by Jan Schaffer
Assignment Remix: Intern-preneurs and Building Bold Thinking, by Kathleen Bartzen Culver
Previous Coverage
Journalism Schools Dig Deeper Into Videogames, by Dena Levitz
Mediatwits #103: When Traditional Companies Incubate, Invest in Startups
Advice for College Journalists: Don’t Do What I Did, by Ryan Frank
How Female Media Entrepreneurs Partner Early to Grow Revenue, Audience, by Dena Levitz
Be sure to join us on Twitter on Friday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. ET for our EducationShift chat, focusing on entrepreneurial journalism education. Follow the hashtag #EdShift to join the conversation.
Kathleen Bartzen Culver is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, teaching and researching at the intersection of ethics and digital media practices. Culver also serves as associate director of the Center for Journalism Ethics and Education Curator for PBS MediaShift.
