Publish or Die? The Academic Journalist Must be an Academic

Abstract

Journalists who decide to take up university posts mid-career, struggle to establish themselves against scholars half their age with no field experience. Being asked to publish academic research—far removed in style and content from their own extensive writing background—to prove their worth seems to be an exercise in futility: they are there to teach professional skills, which their academic colleagues cannot do, and this brings kudos to the university. When they do produce scholarly work, they face difficulty in adapting and have difficulty getting published. Some want universities to allow them to count journalism as research. This, however, is inappropriate, mainly because journalistic output is extremely difficult to judge. If journalists want to become academics, they must produce academic research. The recent increase in suitable research journals and improvements in scholarly methods is making the path easier.