CritiCC's member Christopher David Tulloch has recently published the paper “The Classroom Is the Newsroom: CNA: A Wire Service Journalism Training Model to Bridge the Theory Versus Practice Dichotomy” with Lluis Mas i Manchon in the Journalism & Mass Communication Educator journal. The paper explains "The Catalan News Agency (CNA) experiment" they have developed (2010-2018) for UPF journalism students. Tulloch presented this innovative proposal on the last TNR (Taula de Nova Recerca) celebrated in UPF- Poblenou campus.

The main Challenge of the Project is to make 3rd and 4th year local and International students produce quality English language culture-sensitive content for a news agency -used as a credible source by foreign correspondents, investors and policy makers.

Abstract:

Although recent journalism education literature has promoted constant innovation, creative curriculum design, and the adaptation of teaching methodologies to the requirements of a fiercely competitive media marketplace, the permanent face- off between the academy and the profession has often led to theoretical models distanced from real newsroom dynamics prompting the need for transversal projects that integrate both valid theoretical axioms and core competences. The Catalan News Agency (CNA) experiment, which obliges students to provide professional- level English-language content for an official news agency, addresses this dichotomy and goes beyond classic simulation models as trainees must comply with academic goals and adjust to agency dynamics.

The following poster summarizes the main objectives, methods, background and teaching challenges of the Project: