Anyone can see that today's media landscape is in its most rapid phase of evolution in history. This rapid evolution had placed mass communication and journalism faculty in a precarious situation.
Its a common theme that surrounds technological evolution. Technology is always out ahead of "infrastructure." For instance, pirating technology always finds a way to circumvent any system, but especially proprietary systems. Technology simply evolves too fast and creates a lag between new ways of doing things and old tried and true methods. In this case, faculty cannot adequately prepare students for today's media landscape because they gained all/most of the experience with the old system.
Jones' article provided a great solution to this burgeoning problem. The suggestion to invite local or regional media reps to campuses for annual meetings to take the pulse of the industry is really the best way to deal with this growing divide. Hiring more adjunct instructors who work in the industry is another good way to supplement these annual meetings. Media should attempt to act as R&D for the industry. What a waste to see all of this opportunity for evolving media go to the wayside. Schools should push the envelope instead of lagging behind.
The old media are slow to embrace New Media, but are slowly coming around. The situation is reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution.
Taylor's article no doubt speaks to almost everyone who chooses to major in any communication/media program. The courses simply aren't there, but its no all the fault of the institutions. It is alarming to know that even a prestigious school like NYU isn't even up to snuff when it comes to New Media.
I still have not caught the Twitter bug. Before reading the article on how news orgs are utilizing it I didn't see much practical use for it. Its definitely a great way to get up to date news. I'm glad to see the newspaper industry is beginning to experiment with these ideas and technologies.
For those majoring in communication/media related fields the writing is on the wall. Be ready for anything and everything. Having the most diverse skill set possible is the best route to take in today's rapidly evolving media world.
The following is an interesting video I found that deals with the information revolution and related topics. http://www.mixx.com/videos/2111138/doug_rushkoff_on_the_new_renaissance_there_is_no_personal_democracy
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