March 2nd - 6th was Winthrop University's Mass Communication
week. This meant that almost all MCOM classes were canceled and events were held instead (this translates into a week off for the students who aren't being forced to attend these events). However, two of my professors encouraged me to attend some of these events. One such event was an alumnae panel open for questions from students. This turned out to be an encouraging event, each person seemed to have a story that echoed the fundamental principles covered in my major. And of course the MCOM class I'm taking as a requirement. We are being taught the fundamentals of web-editing and being instructed in writing web content that is applicable. One of our consistent assignments has been redoing stories for the web. "We frequently have to write a shorter version of the story to put on the web right away" said Lee Healy ('05). Hearing this reaffirmed the importance of my class and the concepts covered. I am not a Mass Comm major, nor is my concentration in Mass Communication. But I believe the principles I am learning are applicable anywhere, let alone the fact that I don't know what jobs I will be applying for. It's important to have a wide array of knowledge. "You need to know what it [web-code] looks like, because it's late and the web-guy has left and you have to post this story now" said Alexis Gordon ('02). She seemed to echo the concerns of the faculty who devised my Major. A hybrid of concentrations and courses. Today's convergent journalists have to be guru's, not just specialists.
Some things an effective convergent journalist must have some knowledge of include:
- Basic knowledge of HTML
- Some experience with video editing for extra content
- An ability to properly match visual content with the story
- An understanding of how to effectively deliver content electronically
These few basic abilities can mean the difference between an irreplaceable employee and a temporary position filler.
