Effective writing requires mastering grammar. For journalists, this mastery is critical because research shows poor grammar erodes media credibility. College writing instructors say students do not understand basic grammar concepts, and greater numbers of students are enrolling in remedial writing classes. This quasi-experimental mixed methods…

The accrediting body for media education, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), has established twelve professional values and competencies that all students must demonstrate before graduating from accredited journalism and mass communication programs. A close reading suggests that these twelve…

Increasingly, top-tier journalism and media schools are entering into partnerships with mainstream media organizations to create and distribute student-produced content. While internships have long been a sanctioned way students learn professional practices, downturns in the economy have led to reductions in paid internship programs. On the rise…

As communications students learn to tell stories, the curriculum should teach them to cover diverse groups accurately. Scholars have studied coverage of diversity in gender, nationality, ethnicity, and race. One area that has seen less attention is economic diversity, in particular, coverage of the poor. This paper examines how service-learning…

This study explores the adoption of the team-based learning (TBL) method in knowledge-based and theory-oriented journalism and mass communication (J&MC) courses. It first reviews the origin and concept of TBL, the relevant theories, and then introduces the TBL method and implementation, including procedures and assessments, employed in an…

This study examined the effects of citizen journalism practices on social capital concerning nonprofit and voluntary organizations (i.e., satisfaction, trust, and engagement). Through a quasi-experimental design, the analyses revealed that students in the treatment group, in which participants engaged in citizen journalism practice, had greater…

Tensions that result from varying expectations of service learners and clients/community partners are as common as the pedagogical practice of service learning in public relations courses. The matchmaking process between instructors and clients can influence expectations; however, the literature includes little guidance about the process of client…

Given the increasing need for the retention of satisfied and successful students, the purpose of this study was to explore the factors that influence the perceived quality of relationships formed between students and their academic departments. Based on the extensive review of interdisciplinary literature, the study proposed three…

In this study, the impact of subjective norms on mass communication students' intentions to adopt new media production technologies was explored. The results indicated that subjective norms play an instrumental role in explaining behavioral intentions to adopt new media technologies. Moreover, the data indicated that public relations students…

This study is based on a survey of public relations students and examines their attitudes, expectations, and motivations for participating in curriculum-infused service-learning projects. Results indicate that prior participation does not influence attitudes or expectations, but motivation to participate in the project was significantly associated…

Students cheat. For the field of public relations, which continually struggles for credibility, the issue of student cheating should be paramount, as the unethical students of today become tomorrow's practitioners. Through a survey of 170 public relations majors, this study examined the importance students place on the Public Relations Society of…

This study used the Students' Attitudes toward Statistics Scale (STATS) to measure attitude toward statistics among a national sample of advertising students. A factor analysis revealed four underlying factors make up the attitude toward statistics construct--"Interest & Future Applicability," "Confidence," "Statistical Tools," and "Initiative."…

A national survey of 1,045 advertising students measured opinions about the ethical nature of advertising and ethical dilemmas in the advertising business. More than nine out of ten students agreed that working for a company with high ethical standards was important. Students rated all twelve workplace dilemmas presented as somewhat unethical. For…

Using a framework previously applied to other areas of media literacy, this study developed and assessed a measurement scale focused specifically on critical news media literacy. Our scale appears to successfully measure news media literacy as we have conceptualized it based on previous research, demonstrated through assessments of content,…

A former whites-only South African university's journalism department employs a dual-medium language policy in which Afrikaans and English alternate in classrooms, and students may use either. Admissions processes include a test of linguistic ability (general/cultural knowledge and writing skills). Citing Bourdieu, this article disputes the…