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Putting theory to practice

A critical approach to journalism studies

Vancouver School of Communication at Simon Fraser University dskinner{at}telus.net

Mike J. Gasher

Department of Journalism, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H4B 1R6.

James Compton

Simon Fraser University, British Columbia; #3298 Begin St, Coquitlam, BC, Canada, V3K 6M9.

There has been considerable debate over the proper place of journalism education within the academy. We argue that programmes which compromise between vocational training and a broader programme of study based in the liberal arts remain unsatisfactory because they put too much onus on students themselves to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Taking up James Carey's challenge to more precisely locate the object of study, we believe journalism education must begin from a view of journalism as an institutional practice of representation with its own historical, political, economic and cultural conditions of existence. This means that the journalism curriculum must not only equip students with a particular skill set and broad social knowledge, but must also show students how journalism participates in the production and circulation of meaning.

Key Words: communicationtheory • criticalcommunicationstudies • politicaleconomyofjournalism • epistemology • ethnography • journalismeducation • praxis

Journalism, Vol. 2, No. 3, 341-360 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/146488490100200304


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