The title of this piece is deliberately provocative. I want as many as possible more Mass Communication students to be angry and have the passion, the flair and mastery of writing required for journalism practice.
I know many Mass Communication students who have demonstrable evidence of being outstanding journalists even before graduating, but we need many more to justify the need for the continued studying of Mass Communication for aspiring journalists.
We need many more mass communication students who are not waiting to graduate before seeking jobs to practice what they learnt in school.
We need many more mass communication students who can write news, features and other content very well and have published reports to show for the skills they claim to have.
We need more mass communication students who know some of the opportunities in the industry and are ready to compete for them as some are already doing.
I don’t understand why many none mass communication students exhibit so much brilliance in media practice and not as many of those who have taken all the major courses in journalism are among top students journalists in the country.
READ ALSO: MASS COMM STUDENTS WHO DON’T READ NEWSPAPERS
Take a look at the accomplishments of Ajala Samuel Akindele, a final year student of History and International Studies at Federal University, Oye Ekiti in 2020 shared on Twitter on December 31, 2020.
Thread 2020 at a glance: Fellowships -selected for @greensofa_bet @YALIRLCWA @WorldLiteracy @AIJC_Conference
Mini-Grant – @PeaceFirstOrg
Started @devafricanow, ran 3 projects & 3 programs Published over 100 news stories and special reports on @PremiumTimesng @CampReporterNG
How many mass communication students can boast of Ajala’s record in 2020?
Like I earlier stated, I know some very good student journalists who are mass communication students who may have comparable accomplishments with that of Ajala, but most don’t come anywhere close.
Why should non mass communication students be more active and productive in major campus journalism programmes than mass communication students which is the trend I know of?
What claim will many mass communication graduates have to be considered as preferred applicants for journalism jobs when they don’t have enough proof of what they have written, published or broadcast on any major platform?
For the avoidance of doubt, no editor will hire a reporter because he or she has a degree or diploma in mass communication. Media managers want graduates who can write and have written publishable or broadcast reports.
Media managers don’t want graduates who know the theories of mass communication and principles of writing alone, they want graduates who are abreast of major national and international issues and can produce content on them.
This piece is not meant to shame mass communication students, it’s meant to be a wake-up call for many of them who don’t know what it takes to prepare for a career in the media.
I would be glad if many are angry about my calling them out and go out of their way to take up the challenge of proving that they are capable of being reckoned with in the students’ journalists’ community.
I am on the lookout for your bylines and for your participation in local and international media programmes.
I come in peace. My best wishes as a proud mass communication graduate myself who had many published reports in national newspapers when I was a student in 1982-1985.
