Declining applications a trend at journalism schools: local instructor

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Applications to journalism schools are down across the country, according to a local instructor.

This comes as major media companies make big job cuts, citing declining revenue.

It’s not just a Canadian phenomenon, says Langara journalism chair Frances Bula.

“The changes have affected the number of people applying,” says Bula. “No one has eliminated seats or stopped accepting, partly because sometimes it’s just an undergraduate degree people get as they move on to something else.”

She says it’s been a trend over the last decade throughout North America — but she says the silver lining is that the people who do apply are highly motivated.

“The people that we get applying are keener than they’ve ever been,” says Bula. “They know it’s not cushy and in a way, they’re more motivated. They’re more inspired by journalism because they know it’s not going to be the kind of job where, ‘oh, I can go to school for a few years and go and sit on the back desk of some newspaper and make a big union salary.'”

“They know that’s not the reality anymore, and so what really inspires them is the actual journalism part of it. Weirdly, I find people these days are so keen and so motivated and they’re such believers in journalism.”

Bula says the work is there for grads despite media cuts, whether that be in the new media startup realm, or through companies hiring staff to create journalism-like content.

That’s partly down to the changing nature of what companies expect out of their communications staff.

“There’s a greater demand,” says Bula. “All kinds of organizations, from school boards to companies, to non-profits, are expanding their communications. As the media model changes, they’re producing their own journalism. I have friends who work in communications, who would say, ’10 years ago my job was just to try and flog stories to the mainstream media. These days 50 percent of my job is doing my own journalism and putting it up on our own website, where someone from the public will come across it as they’re looking for information on this.'”

Bula says the changing media environment has also prompted curriculum changes in order to account for many of these industry changes.