Newspapers are cutting staff, so more reporters are on a combined K-12 and higher ed beat. This session turned into an informal discussion about ways to avoid compromising coverage at both ends of the education spectrum. Jennifer Jordan of the Providence Journal led the discussion.
An informal survey of reporters on the EWA listserv revealed the diminished coverage hits the higher ed hard. We discussed ways to wrap higher ed coverage into the K-12 discussion. A few ideas: Sometimes higher ed can be covered on another beat, like business. Pass along good K-12 stories too; for example if a school has a good theater program, offer the story to the arts desk. Write about things like teacher prep; how well are local colleges training teachers? Dual enrollment programs and early enrollment are also ways higher ed and K-12 topics overlap. Do more stories on STEM, since science and math are critical in every state. Look at pathways to college programs, joint agreements, and moving kids from community colleges into a 4-year program.
We also talked about ways to get higher ed into the paper while maximizing limited time. For example, other beats can cite university professors as sources. You also can grab wire stories about education and to it off with local information.
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