Liz Willen, Assistant Director and Justin Snider: "Education Reporters Say They Need More Training"

Liz Willen, Assistant Director and Justin Snider: "Education Reporters Say They Need More Training"

By Liz Willen and Justin Snider

Reporters who cover education believe overwhelmingly that the beat requires specialized knowledge. Yet 39 percent of education reporters surveyed in February 2008 by the Hechinger Institute say they've received no such training, and just 6 percent report to an editor whose sole responsibility is supervising education coverage.

Despite declining circulation and ad revenues that have led to the departure of experienced education writers and editors, half of the respondents say their outlets view education as a high priority. More than two-thirds say an education story lands on the front page of their paper at least once a week.

The Institute used a media listing service to identify more than 1,000 newspaper reporters around the United States on the education beat. Some 275 reporters completed an 18-question online survey that asked them about everything from what they needed most to improve their coverage to whether their newspaper has a stand-alone education page or section.

Journalists assigned to the education beat find themselves covering many topics besides education; some 47 percent say they also function as general assignment reporters.

The survey findings come at a time when veteran education reporters and editors are leaving the profession and taking their vast knowledge of institutions and communities with them. Those who remain in the newsroom often scramble to cover multiple school districts while also trying to get a handle on issues ranging from school budgets and teacher contracts to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

One K-12 reporter at a large paper summarized the predicament many education journalists now find themselves in: "With space tight and staffing low, it is difficult to compete. When we have a fire, shooting or death, my education stories are second in importance. If I'm working on an education story, I always get pulled to work the breaking story which is of greater importance. In the end, when I get back to the education story, it is no longer 'news' and thus is set aside or left for the blog."

Hechinger Institute Director Richard Lee Colvin said he commissioned the survey in part to find out how the Institute, which in the last decade has hosted more than 60 seminars for 1,900 journalists, can help.

"Newsrooms are in turmoil as the businesses they work for respond slowly to light-speed changes in communications technologies and news consumers' behaviors," Colvin said. "We wanted to see how education coverage is being affected and better understand the needs of reporters." Amid the cutbacks, many news organizations are re-emphasizing local coverage. That means the education beat may actually emerge stronger than in the past because editors know readers value the coverage.

Colvin said the survey's findings confirm his belief that more training on education issues and using research remains a priority for those on the beat, as does more time to visit classrooms and talk about stories.

There were some bright spots in the survey's findings. At the Cleveland Plain Dealer in Ohio, for example, six education reporters remain on the beat, even after the newsroom offered buyouts to more than 60 employees in 2006. They report to an experienced education editor, are encouraged to attend seminars and come up with new story ideas and approaches, and meet weekly to share information and sources.

"We get a lot of feedback from readers because education is the one subject that touches everybody," said Scott Stephens, who has spent 14 years covering education for the Plain Dealer. "There is no shortage of strong feelings about education, and people aren't afraid to share them."

Other findings include:

• 55 percent of reporters use social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook in their reporting; 15 percent say they frequently use such sites to reach students.
• 35 percent have occasionally led off stories with references to relevant education research, but 25 percent say they have difficulty either finding relevant research or translating it for their readers.
• About three in four say they have new multi - media responsibilities - including taking photos, recording video and audio, or writing a blog - but fewer than half expressed satisfaction with the training their outlet provided for such new responsibilities.

Veteran education reporters say that knowing the beat pays off. The most common concern Stephens hears expressed by school leaders is turnover on the education beat. "They really value a reporter with expertise," Stephens said.

Mark Di Vincenzo, former (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press education editor, said, "Newspapers that have resisted implementing layoffs and buyouts continue to produce ambitious journalism" and continue to win awards. But when cuts are made, he said, quality tumbles and readers lose out.

For veteran education reporter Marilyn Brown of The Tampa Tribune, the education beat, despite its politics, demands and complexities, remains vitally important and in need of perspective and context. In her case, that means continuing to do what she's done for the last 10 years: "trying to keep up with the main issues and trends, and not being frustrated that I can't do all the great stories I find every day."

Institue staff members Matt Bruderle and Salina Sanchez provided research assistance for this story.

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Results at a Glance

• 91 percent of respondents said they believe covering education requires specialized knowledge.
• 41 percent said they need more specialized training and knowledge to become better education reporters, but 39 percent said their news outlet provided no training.
• 50 percent said their outlets view education coverage as a high priority.
• 71 percent said that their paper places an education story on the front page at least
  once a week.
• 47 percent said that, in addition to covering education, they are also general assignment reporters.

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How this survey was conducted:

A media listing service identified more than 1,000 education reporters at U.S. newspapers, who were then contacted by e-mail. Of those contacted, 275 reporters completed an 18-question online survey.

• 51 percent of respondents covered K-12 schools;
• 28 percent covered all the education in their markets; and
• 20 percent covered higher education.
• 53 percent of respondents wrote for papers with circulations under 100,000;
• 45 percent for papers with circulations of 100,000-500,000; and
• 3 percent for papers with circulations greater than 500,000.