The methodological training of journalists in Spanish universities for an academic and digital consulting profile

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of scientific research training of journalism students in Spanish universities. The aim is to determine if such training promotes the role of teachers/researchers and analysts/consultants in the field of communication, especially at a time of media transformation and innovation in the sector. The content of study programs and syllabi of 40 universities were analyzed to identify changes in the discipline over the last two decades. The evolution of this subject matter indicates the limited importance attached to the researcher-consultant profile of journalists, since less than half of the faculties offer methodological courses. Likewise, an analysis of the course syllabi reflects a lack of novel tools and methodological approaches in a field that is already immersed in the context of digital humanities, big data and social networks, and that these programs of study mainly reproduce content and classical research techniques of the social sciences.