This semester, aspiring journalists had the opportunity to immerse themselves in both media education and experience without setting foot outside of the classroom. This semester the Media Studies department offered a course, Journalism and the Media, taught by CBS journalist and University alum Wyatt Andrews. Centered upon an in-depth look at the television media networks, the class was open to all students who desire a greater understanding of the media in today's society.
Andrews said that by drawing upon his years of experience in television journalism, he seeks to bring new and helpful information to students who wish to pursue careers in journalism upon graduation.
"I was looking to construct a survey course of TV journalism to provide an academic look at journalism, why it's produced the way it is and the big differences between broadcast news, local news, PBS and cable networks." Andrews said.
Andrews' introduction to the journalism world began in college when he worked for the former WUVA radio station, now 92.7 Kiss FM. An active staff member of the station, Andrews learned the basic reporting skills that would serve him later on in life while also helping to improve the station's popularity, he said.
"Back then we had an extremely active news department," Andrews said. "It was a pitiful radio station -- during my first three years here, the only way to get the station was to plug your radio into the wall. But we were into the mission and having fun. I was learning how to be a newsman, writing long news stories and interviewing professors."
After obtaining a double major in government and foreign affairs, Andrews applied the knowledge he gained from a liberal arts education while working for Channel 6 in Richmond. From there, he transferred to Orlando, then to Miami and, eventually, was permanently hired by CBS.
After his long absence from the University environment, Andrews was prompted to teach a media studies course after having a conversation with College Dean Ed Ayers about the popularity of media studies courses and the limited amount of space within the program.
"I was wondering why there weren't more media studies courses, and [Ayers] told me how the University has long term plans to revamp the program," Andrews said. "I'm a U.Va. parent now, and my daughter has tried for three straight semesters to get into media studies courses. The department is great but not large enough. Ayers looked at me and said, 'So why don't you teach a course?' So I had to put out or shut up."
So Andrews took on the challenge, and a challenge it proved to be. Andrews said the combination between working a full-time job and the visiting professor position was both a difficult balancing act and a beneficial learning experience.
Teaching "is unbelievably hard but enjoyable," Andrews said. "I have a newfound appreciation for what college professors do. I've been a working journalist almost since the day I left U.Va., and most of the last 32 years, I never really thought about looking at what I do from an academic perspective."
In choosing what area of journalism to concentrate on, Andrews decided not to teach a class that emphasized the traditional aspects of journalism such as news writing and editing. Instead, Andrews said he hoped to provide a broader overview of the role the media play in our lives in order to emphasize its importance and function.
This "generation processes more information in a day than [mine] did in a week, which is changing our lives in countless ways," Andrews said. "Media studies is the new millennium liberal art, and liberal arts colleges need to adapt to that and offer more courses deconstructing the modern image and the modern flow of information."
Andrews, however, does not believe every student needs to have a media studies major in order to succeed in a journalism career.
"I'm not advocating that the College ramp up media studies to train more journalists, nor am I advocating that U.Va. become a journalism school," Andrews said. "I do not think that we should teach the craft of journalism; instead, we should study how information is crafted and manipulated and how that impacts our politics and economics."
According to Andrews, the reasoning behind the popularity of the media studies department has to do with the misconception that a student has to have a media-based education to obtain a journalism job after graduation. Andrews, however, combats this thinking by asserting that a liberal arts education is the best tool a journalist in today's world can possess.
"About four to five students contact me every year through the alumni network asking the same question," Andrews said. "Students who want to be journalists are going to be well served no matter what, whether they major in history, media studies, drama, foreign affairs. When U.Va. students get out in the world with as broad an education as the University offers, they know how to write because they've been exposed to other cultures and experiences."
Andrews said that, while he realizes the limited number of classes within the media studies department and the University's continued attempts to adjust course offerings to meet the student demand, he is not sure at this time whether or not he will be teaching his course for another semester.
"CBS was very nice to let me do this, and it would be very difficult to ask CBS to do this again," Andrews said. "It does take a lot of time away from my real job, but I would love to do it. I just worry about my real boss saying yes."
His advice, however, is something from which all journalists, both inside and outside of the media studies department, can benefit.
"My advice to budding journalists is to realize that you have the right degree, even if you may not know how to function in a newsroom," Andrews said. "U.Va. prepares journalists very well. When I figured this out, it was deep into my career."
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