● Journalism education is considered no longer relevant to the dynamics of industrial needs and developments in digital technology.

● Changes in technology, professions, and production processes require journalists to remain critical.

● Journalism education must continue to instill idealism, public awareness, and ethical awareness.

The discourse about journalism education being no longer relevant on campuses—including in Indonesia—with the needs and developments of technology and industry is increasingly prominent.

Universities are seen as teaching outdated journalism practices. These practices negate the digital environment, which is synonymous with speed, engaging content, brevity, and cross- platform shareability on social media.

Journalism education currently faces the challenge of producing a ready-to-use workforce. This is consistent with program accreditation mechanisms , which are always linked to graduates’ ability to be absorbed by industry and employer perceptions of their performance.

However, as media and journalism educators, we believe that journalism education should produce graduates who add color to the media.

The hope is that education can restore the essence of journalism to what the public needs to know, not just what they want to know. This is especially true in an industry that is increasingly capitalist and often detrimental to the public interest .

Challenges of journalism education

To remain relevant to the challenges of digital media, journalism education curricula need to consider three key issues: technology, profession, and production.

1. Technological challenges

The practice of journalism is facing what is called the “media twilight”. This began with the closure of print media and the shift to online media .

This is inextricably linked to the low readability of news content. The decline of the conventional broadcasting industry was marked by the closure of several television stations, followed by mass layoffs .

Meanwhile, various social media products are showing rapid growth, for example, the mushrooming number of podcasts . The presence of social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube has also given rise to new journalism products, such as podcast journalism, mobile journalism , and others.

Social media also makes journalism more personal. Media outlets must interact with their audiences through comment sections, respond to audience pressure , and employ gimmicks to stay in the public’s mind. This can include giveaways or other efforts to maintain closeness and interactivity.

This form of journalism that has become very personal shows how emotions , informality, and digital intimacy can redefine and reduce the practice and perception of journalism in the digital era.

This encourages every newsroom to produce sensational or emotionally charged stories. Instead of being watchdogs in a democracy , journalists are reduced to digital influencers in a labor ecosystem vulnerable to exploitation. Journalists thus become part of the labor precariat .

2. Professional challenges

Before the internet era, journalists were considered the sole source and shaper of information .

After the birth of the internet and social media, journalists lost their privilege as informants, rivaled by the presence of citizen journalism .

This democratization of media has given rise to a new profession: content creator, often considered synonymous with journalist. In fact, editorial positions actually require more content creators or video creators .

Journalists are not content creators. This is because content creators don’t operate with the mindset , basic concepts, and ethics of journalists, which encompass ethical, skillful, and critical aspects . The parameters of a content creator are engagement , not depth of information.

Content creators prioritize virality, while journalists should generate resonance that stimulates critical discourse.

Content creators care about content that generates positive sentiment and clicks . Journalists, on the other hand, are less concerned with clicks because they’re primarily concerned with the public interest.

The advent of visual-based social media has also pushed journalists toward a performance-oriented approach. Live broadcasts on social media require journalists to be skilled presenters, creators of engaging content, and to maintain their legitimacy as journalists to ensure the credibility of the information they convey.

The media is “required” to prefer bylines to newsreaders. Because they constantly emphasize their physical appearance, they become like celebrities. Consequently, journalists must be attractive, have a following , and be a presence that attracts public attention.

3. Production challenges

The presence of technology that produces big data analysis , AI and various similar facilities makes the work of journalists easier.

The presence of social media and its derivatives has also made the gradual, tiered and formal newsroom production process change to become shorter and shorter .

The simplicity of the process of producing information and news through social media has made populism increasingly flourish, as politicians would rather speak on podcasts than go through the complicated procedures of appearing in conventional news media.

In addition, the decline in readers and subscribers means media companies have to adapt to their audience’s style.

A 2018 Bloomberg analysis showed that the global Gen Z population had overtaken millennials. The 2024 Indonesia Gen Z Report also indicated that Generation Z is the largest group after millennials.

This means that the majority of the young audience consumes information through social media, not print, electronic, or online media .

The audience itself is the agent of information decentralization because it is able to produce and disseminate information through various private social media platforms .

Finally, many “media outlets” emerged that no longer grew through formal journalistic organizations. These outlets were founded by individuals producing information who then formalized their channels into media outlets. For example, building a media institution using the subscriber base they had accumulated on a YouTube channel .

Relevant journalism education

In the context of journalism education, universities need to think about how to transfer knowledge to students about the ideals of journalism that do not have to be dissolved by industrial logic.

Journalism students should be aware that many groups are marginalized by the media , issues are never touched upon because they are not in line with the algorithm , or writing is shallow to be SEO friendly .

They must also understand that journalists need to be protected not only physically but also ideologically. The presence of social media in the digital environment can sometimes be counterproductive to these essential elements.

Of course, the debate about how journalism curricula should be developed on campuses will never be resolved.

However, the realization that there are many gray areas present, can be a wake-up call for all that producing journalists who are aware of the essence is far more important than simply meeting industry expectations.

Author Bios: Yustitia’s Twilight is a Lecturer and Firly Annisa is Associate Professor both at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta