In 1976, the very first journalism degree program in Germany was introduced– at first accompanied by some doubts and resistance from the industry: Could theory and practice genuinely be combined in journalism education? The program found its home under the management of Prof. Kurt Koszyk and with the support of Johannes Rau, then Minister of Science of North Rhine‑Westphalia, at the Ruhr University of Education (Pädagogische Hochschule Ruhr), which was integrated into the University of Dortmund in 1980. Ever since, more than 2,000 graduates have actually successfully finished their studies at the IJ, which to this day is identified by its close interlinking of theory and practice, an incorporated traineeship, and training in the multimedia teaching newsroom.
Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal, and European, International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine‑Westphalia, stressed in his address how crucial well‑trained reporters are for society. He pointed out that the media landscape has altered considerably– not least due to digital platforms on which anybody can send and get material at any time, where sharpness is rewarded and polarization is driven forward. Contributed to this is the concurrence of crises, which overwhelms individuals and leads them to seek stability and simplification. Free journalism, he stated, is therefore likewise a service to democracy, and the two are equally dependent. The minister thanked the IJ members and alumni present for their good workmanship and their democratic position. Mayor Britta Gövert likewise praised, at what she called Dortmund’s “largest class reunion”, the efforts of recognized and ambitious reporters to classify reality and make it comprehensible.
Alumni Take Part In Shaping Public Discourse
TU President Prof. Manfred Bayer said in his address: “Fifty years of journalism in Dortmund mark an unique minute and an amazing success. Many generations of students have currently discovered their important and complex craft with us– and today they play a decisive function in forming public discourse.” Amongst the best‑known reporters who studied in Dortmund are WDR Program Director Jörg Schönenborn, ARD Washington Correspondent Gudrun Engel, heute journal speaker Hanna Zimmermann, presenter Mona Ameziane, in addition to Maximilian Doeckel and Jonathan Focke of the podcast Quarks Science Cops. Andrea Schafarczyk, WDR Program Director and alumna, also validated in her address that one encounters IJ graduates in media companies throughout the country, where they are highly valued for their excellent training.
The Institute of Journalism, with its eight professorships, receives more applications each year than it has locations. It presently has around 500 trainees registered in the 4 research study tracks Journalism, Science Journalism, Music Journalism, and Economic‑Policy Journalism. Having actually started with 6 tape recorders and 30 typewriters, the IJ has actually established immensely over the previous years, as Handling Director Prof. Christina Elmer discussed in her speech. Considering that 1999, the campus radio station eldoradio *, based at the institute, has been broadcasting in Dortmund. Ten years later, the television training channel NRWision– developed and still operated by the IJ– went on air. The mentor newsrooms, which were consolidated under the umbrella brand KURT in 2017, are likewise a long-term component.
Conference of Academic Professionals at TU Dortmund University
The Dortmund institute likewise sets crucial impulses in research, consisting of in the fields of science communication and data journalism/AI, as well as through a long‑term research study on “Journalism and Democracy”. The Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism, founded in 1991, supports high‑quality journalism education worldwide through many jobs and analyzes, to name a few things, communication on conflict‑related subjects such as migration. At the invite of the IJ, the yearly conference of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK, German Interaction Association) was held at TU Dortmund University from 18 to 20 March. Around 360 scientists from across Germany came together to take a look at, versus the backdrop of democracy under pressure in numerous places, the interaction in between academic community and media‑mediated interaction.
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