A Promising Connection of College Journalism Students and Community Engagement

Abstract

This study has explored the community engagement levels of Taiwanese college journalism students who took the community engagement and public journalism courses, as well as examined the way the practices have made an impact on them. The results indicated that taking community-oriented courses increases an interest in the community for the students. It enhances their abilities when participating in civic engagement activities more than their peers. The finding also showed through focusing the reportage on the residents and helping them to form a dialogue field for discussing community public issues, the participating students recognized the feeling that they have earned the trust and respect from the residents, and were able to rebuild their connection with society. Furthermore, the process not only improved the students’ journalism skills so that they were more likely to produce in-depth and meaningful news coverage, but also strengthened their confidence to become a good news practitioner in the future.