Response by Texas Journalism Teachers to Proposed TEKS Revisions

As Texas journalism instructors and publications advisers vitally
interested in the future of our programs and the relevance of our
programs to students' needs, especially of those who will be entering
college/university media programs and those who plan a career in media,
we are concerned that the proposed Journalism Course TEKS revisions will
not adequately prepare high school students for those experiences.

Todays journalists are expected to write and edit copy for
print, Web and broadcast; shoot and edit video; shoot and edit still
shots; create opinion pieces for newspaper, broadcast and Weblogs;
create interactive polls and graphics; build community through readers
comments, forums, and online networking; script, produce and appear in
broadcast and Webcast news shows; drive traffic to their news sites and
blogs through use of social media; and report from the field, often
using video, pictures and interviews recorded by cell phones in addition
to more sophisticated equipment.

Journalism job losses since the economic downturn have been
three times the job losses in other industries. It is apparent, when and
if the industry comes back, it will be one in which the industry asks
more of media graduates. They will need to write. That's the core of
journalism, of course. But newspapers now shoot video and television
stations expect reporters to write newspaper-style print stories.
Reporters carry flip cams for livestreams and on-the-spot reporting. The
platforms are coming together. The industry is asking graduates not only
to be able to write but also to have the skills and savvy to know how to
compete in this convergent marketplace.

Traditional forms of news delivery are changing rapidly as
technology changes. Both newspapers and broadcast news teams are moving
to Web-based news delivery to augment or replace their former delivery
systems. Many newspapers and broadcast news teams are victims of
todays economy, the changing technology, and reader/viewers changes
in preference in their news delivery systems.

The emergence of blogs on a multitude of subjects from news to
politics to business has enticed former avid newspaper and magazine
readers and television news viewers to the Web.

The popularity of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter,
has provided traditional media innovative ways to reach consumers and
drive traffic to their news sites.

Technology in the form of smart phones with high resolution
cameras and high definition video capability, MP3 players, Kindle and
other e-book readers, and other electronic devices all create new
markets for information delivery and create ways for the public to
interact with news organizations.


For high school journalism courses to be meaningful to students who will
major in mass communications and enter the media world of tomorrow, they
must do what college programs have been doing for several yearsbecome
convergent.

While the proposed revisions to the Journalism TEKS mentiotechnology, we feel they do not emphasize its importance, so that its
use in journalism classrooms will be relevant and meaningful.

Convergence needs to be introduced in the beginning Journalism and
Photojournalism courses and carried forward for advanced students. Even
schools without high tech broadcasting programs can offer students
opportunities for a convergent program, as there are low cost handheld
digital camcorders and all-in-one software solutions that are very
affordable.

The Texas Association of Journalism Educators would like the opportunity
to offer some suggestions for incorporating more technology into the
current journalism courses, and we would like to propose a production
class in convergent media, to be offered in addition to traditional
yearbook, newspaper and broadcasting programs.


We want to equip our students with the best possible tools for success
in college and in their profession. We welcome the opportunity to work
with your committee to develop standards which will meet these
objectives.

(Petition to be signed by members of TAJE and other interested
journalism educators)