oa Journalistiek in Vlaanderen

Journalism in Flanders: correspondence between practice, education and research

As journalism practice has changed over the last decade, so have the journalism curricula and the research field. While the news business was undergoing dramatic changes as a result of the digital revolution, Flanders witnessed a boom in journalism curricula and saw the emergence of a new research domain, namely journalism studies. Given the constant interaction, it seems relevant to investigate the degree in which these domains correspond to one another. In this study we identify the thematic focuses as well as the prominence of the four main media platforms within each domain. We carried out a survey among 600 Flemish journalists, analyzed every bachelor and master study program in Flanders and inventoried Flemish research in journalism studies, conducted from 2005 till 2010. The results indeed indicate a number of discrepancies, mainly thematic in nature. Possible remedies are discussed.