Abstract:

The impact of the transformation in information and communication technologies and the effects of digitalization are deeply felt in every field. Adapting to this new era, which is called the digital age, seems to be an important necessity in every field. The field of communication and journalism, which is intertwined with technology, is heavily affected by the transformation of the digital age. For this reason, both journalism education and the journalism sector have to fulfill the requirements of the digital age. It is an important requirement that digital courses be included in the curriculum of the journalism departments of universities that train students for the journalism sector. The aim of this study is to compare Turkish universities with universities abroad and to reveal the proficiency and diversity of digital courses in journalism departments. Based on the necessity that the journalism course curricula in universities should be compatible with the digital age, the course curricula of undergraduate journalism departments of universities in Türkiye and abroad were examined. The study includes universities in Türkiye and abroad that have accreditation certificates. Accreditation is a quality process that demonstrates the quality of university education and its compliance with standards. The study was carried out using the content analysis method. The findings revealed that the journalism course curricula of foreign universities include more digital courses in terms of digital course diversity and intensity and courses in digital journalism fields compared to Turkish universities. This situation highlights the need for journalism departments of Turkish universities to focus more on digital courses and to keep their course curricula more updated in line with digitalization.

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