The Role of Distance Learning in Journalism: Preliminary Findings from Journalists’ Perspectives

Abstract

This paper presents the preliminary findings of an ongoing research project focused on the importance of building learning tools and procedures that will help media professionals adjust to a constant changing environment. Adopting a mix of quantitative and qualitative methodology by conducting in depth interviews with journalists from Greece and Cyprus, and by running an online questionnaire, addressed to journalists as well as communication professionals, we try to define the role and the profile of the contemporary journalist, and how it has changed under the pressure and the potential, unleashed by new technologies and the global financial crisis. We study the development of lifelong learning programs, their impact and their results with an emphasis on distance learning. Through our research we conclude that there is a need to rethink journalism training and curricula by introducing new skills. In addition, lifelong learning in the form of distance learning seems to be a priority for most journalists in order to adjust to the current media landscape.