Journalism teachers have a new Spanish-language resource available to help them bring real-life reporting scenarios into the classroom. The Knight Case Studies Initiative, from Columbia University's Journalism School, now is offering two new case studies in Spanish.
The case studies, free to faculty members, are "are classroom-ready teaching tools and vehicles for classroom discussion" that focus on "the thorny issues facing the media industry today," said Kirsten Lundberg, director of the Knight Case Studies Initiative. The cases offer true-to-life dilemmas without any absolute right or wrong answers, and journalism students must put themselves in the shoes of the decision makers -- such as a reporter, editor or publisher -- and debate the different options before eventually reaching a decision.
The two new Spanish-language cases, Privacidad y el Interés Público: Frederick, MD, News-Post y la Historia de Bruce Ivins. Primera Parte; and Una Historia Esquiva: El Chicago Tribune y la ley "Que Ningún Niño Quede Atrás," initially were translated so they could be used as part of a workshop at the Universidad de los Andes in Chile. They join a third case already in Spanish about CONTACTO, a Chilean TV documentary program that tracked down one of Chile’s most-wanted criminals.
A fourth case translated into Spanish, about using social media to report, will be released soon. It already is available in English.
If teachers order the case studies and then decide to use them in the classroom, students must pay a small fee, $3.95 or $5.95 each, to access online and downloadable PDF versions of the materials.
"Students in case discussions are engaged and empowered," Lundberg said. "Through discussion guided by a knowledgeable faculty member, they learn skills of critical thinking, management and leadership."
For more information about the case method of teaching, or to see the full collection of case studies in English and Spanish, go to http://casestudies.jrn.columbia.edu.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
