Who teaches about hostility? Examining factors for inclusion in journalism curriculum

Journalistic well-being is garnering increasing attention from scholars globally. Nevertheless, minimal research has explored how colleges and universities are teaching about such topics, especially as they pertain to hostility toward the press, which is on the rise. Utilizing a survey of journalism instructors at ACEJMC-accredited U.S.-based universities, this study explores the state of education on the topics of abuse and safety toward journalists. Data indicate that instructors rarely teach about hostility in the classroom, although most feel efficacious to do so. Moreover, findings indicate an instructor is more likely to teach about hostility toward the press the more they see it as an issue and have encountered it personally as a journalist—particularly women faculty. Implications for these findings are discussed for journalism schools and their curriculum.

Sample

411 journalism instructors at ACEJMC-accredited journalism schools participated in this study. They were recruited from 109 accredited journalism schools and nine provisional programs. Faculty and instructor bios listed on each school’s website were searched, and we manually collected email addresses for those teaching journalism classes. This included full-time professors, adjunct staff, and graduate teaching assistants listed as the instructor of record for at least one journalism course.

Main Findings

Not only do most instructors see hostility as a key challenge journalists face, but one in five journalism instructors surveyed said they experienced hostility “quite often” to “always” when they worked as professional journalists. Nevertheless, hostility as a key challenge does not necessarily translate to lessons in the classroom. In fact, 72% of instructors say they “never” or only “sometimes” include a lesson about hostility in their courses. What’s more, 32.8% never include readings about hostility in their courses, while 42.5% only do so sometimes.

Policy recommendations/implications

The purpose of this research is not to assert that every university should have a class fully dedicated to this topic (which could scare students from pursuing journalism as a career), but that this key challenge—and how to face it—should be integrated into curriculum much like journalism ethics is considered in more than just ethics courses. Primarily, instructors need to find dedicated space and time in their courses to present students with information about the realities of hostility and harassment that the press faces regularly. This might be in the form of a lecture or guest lecture with a current professional journalist, readings or videos, or case studies used to problem-solve and spark discussion on the topic. Moreover, instructors need to provide education on resources like the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, The Committee for the Protection of Journalists, and Trollbusters. As time progresses, courses dedicated to safety, well-being, and exploration of the climate of information should become required courses in line with media law and journalism ethics requirements. Second, accrediting bodies such as ACEJMC or university assessment offices should begin to require such education. It cannot be the work of one or two faculty to move forward education on this valuable topic, but a larger shift in the norms of journalism education that calls for such information to be shared to better prepare students for the important work as the fourth estate. In the short term, since we know instructors are lacking in this area, news organizations should make stronger efforts to onboard new staff members about such challenges and provide ongoing training and resources for current staff so they are prepared to handle hostility in the field.

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This study was part of a larger project, and you can find a second, related study here: Mesmer, K. (2024). Socializing students to accept hostility? A survey of how instructors talk about hostility in the journalism classroom. Journalism, 25(12), 2564-2581. doi.org/10.1177/14648849231219099