Pedagogical newsrooms have a dual function: content production and reflective learning. Maarit Jaakkola, of the University of Tampere, studied six curriculum-related newsrooms in the Nordic countries: Utain, Smocka, Västfronten, NetAvisen, Nettopp, and Netavisaullandhaug.no. The university-based instructors responsible for the newsrooms were interviewed for the study.

The author introduces the concept of the pedagogical newsroom (PN). A pedagogical newsroom is not a direct adoption of a professional newsroom, the article argues. It is an attempt to create more value, more generally reflecting the the relationship between education and practice. Their primary outcomes are the results of learning, on top of content production.

There is not a single model shared by all insitutions, the article concludes. Pedagogical newsrooms present a demanding field of management and pedagogy, where academic curriculum meets learning of editorial practices.

The article “S(t)imulating Journalism in the Classroom” was published in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator and is available online (free abstract).

Picture: Untitled by Oliver Thomas Klein, license CC0 1.0