Newsroom-Classroom Hybrids at Universities

Book excerpt: This book investigates the success of U.S. nonprofit university centers, where students work alongside investigative reporters, from a professional and educational perspective. Drawing on a detailed investigation of four of the most prominent and renowned centers in the U.S. – the IRP Berkeley (UC Berkeley), the Stabile Center (Columbia University), the Workshop (American University), and the New England CIR (Boston University) – the newsroom role and the classroom role of university nonprofits is examined. Finding the description of a win-win situation – where overstretched newsrooms get extra resources; while students learn from the best – an oversimplification, the author explores learning outcomes, student experiences, financial benefits, and quality of the student output. Offering an in-depth analysis of the characteristics, challenges and benefits of different forms of journalistic cooperation, this book will be a useful resource to scholars, students and practitioners of journalism, journalism education, and media practice.