Volume 13, Number 2, 2023
GUEST EDITOR’S NOTE
This issue of Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication is rich with analytical research and innovative classroom practices. In the research section, Mackenzie Cato explores the increasingly fraught ground of addressing controversial topics in classrooms, and suggests some best practices; Samuel Mwangi and Colene Lind consider if there is a gap between the news consumption habits of our college students and what we teach, and the implications for journalism education; and Patrick R. Johnson provides an analysis of syllabi from ethics classes that may lead some journalism and mass communication educators to reconsider how they construct this vital, and usually required, contract between educator and student.
In the teaching section, readers may find inspirational ideas from building a social media simulation to teach students about urgent crisis response to imagining an otherworldly science fiction scenario to help students awash in images learn editorial decision-making and the value of representation, and put them into practice. One article proposes pushing students out of their comfort zones and into the university’s historic archives by using those resources to enhance digital storytelling. Other teaching manuscripts published here offer fresh looks at integrating theory, media effects, and finally an essay urging educators and researchers to set an agenda that promotes student innovation and student media experimentation in the ongoing search for a sustainable economic model for journalism in the 21st century.
I am full of gratitude for the work of these authors, and all the volunteers who make TJMC possible, including the many reviewers who contributed their time and expertise, book editor Kalen Churcher, journal designer Jon Bekken, webmasters Dave Madsen and Mitzi Lewis, and most of all TJMC Editor Cathy Strong, whose constant leadership of this journal has been an asset to AEJMC’s Small Programs Interest Group. Her guidance and mentoring of this guest editor have been invaluable.
Enjoy reading these wonderful articles, and best wishes for 2024!
Jacqueline Soteropoulos Incollingo, Ph.D.