A conference in Toronto last month focused on higher education and the media. Organized by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations and other groups, the event considered how information about higher education is communicated—we don’t often think about how higher education is portrayed to the public and to policymakers, or for that matter even how the academic community learns about what is going on in the ever more complex world of higher education.
There are two parts to this story and both are important. The media are themselves undergoing a revolution due to the role of the Internet and the resulting impact on traditional outlets such as newspapers and television. In general, there are fewer reporters focusing on higher education at a time when interest in this topic is growing worldwide.There are many variations by country; in many developing countries, the mainstream press is full of stories about higher education. I counted a half dozen higher education stories in a recent issue of The Hindu, a major Indian national newspaper with a print circulation of several million. This level of coverage is typical of many developing countries.
In contrast, the New York Times might print one higher education story a week, if that. This contrast probably reflects the great public interest in higher education in India.
Politicians and the public learn about higher education from the media—not often from the higher education community directly. What they learn is sometimes skewed toward sensational news and occasionally reported by journalists who are not well informed about higher education and are without support for in-depth research. For example, recent debates about the value of a college education in the press took snippets of data from a book questioning the economic benefits of postsecondary education without reporting the fuller, more nuanced story. This of course is a serious problem since the media often shapes public opinion—often to the detriment of higher education. (...)
By Philip G. Altbach
July 5, 2011 12:15 pm EDT
Read more
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/the_world_view/communicating_about_higher_education
There are two parts to this story and both are important. The media are themselves undergoing a revolution due to the role of the Internet and the resulting impact on traditional outlets such as newspapers and television. In general, there are fewer reporters focusing on higher education at a time when interest in this topic is growing worldwide.There are many variations by country; in many developing countries, the mainstream press is full of stories about higher education. I counted a half dozen higher education stories in a recent issue of The Hindu, a major Indian national newspaper with a print circulation of several million. This level of coverage is typical of many developing countries.
In contrast, the New York Times might print one higher education story a week, if that. This contrast probably reflects the great public interest in higher education in India.
Politicians and the public learn about higher education from the media—not often from the higher education community directly. What they learn is sometimes skewed toward sensational news and occasionally reported by journalists who are not well informed about higher education and are without support for in-depth research. For example, recent debates about the value of a college education in the press took snippets of data from a book questioning the economic benefits of postsecondary education without reporting the fuller, more nuanced story. This of course is a serious problem since the media often shapes public opinion—often to the detriment of higher education. (...)
By Philip G. Altbach
July 5, 2011 12:15 pm EDT
Read more
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/the_world_view/communicating_about_higher_education
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