Dr. Rashad Mammadov, head of UFV’s Communications department, has a vision for the future. He looks to further develop the university’s journalism program — putting UFV on the innovative edge of training multimedia journalists.
Professor Mammadov has more than 20 years of experience working in journalism and communications-related fields. During his career, he has witnessed the restructuring of the media industry starting in the 2000s. This drastic shift away from traditional media practices and toward the spawning of an online media age led to shutdowns of many major media outlets and forced thousands of employees to lose their jobs or choose alternative career paths.
While the new century has not been kind to journalism, Mammadov believes the industry has adapted and is ready to return to its place as the trusted watchdog of society.
“Journalism recognizes trends and problems in society before they happen, and then reports it. Journalists are key for a democracy and society to function properly,” Mammodov said.
Adopted on April 17, 1982, Section 2(b) of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that we all have the right to “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” This is backed up more recently by a 2018 News Media Canada survey that suggested 94 percent of Canadians still believe journalism is important to democracy.
The Government of Canada stated in 2019 that Canadians must have access to informed, reliable journalism, but recognizes that the media landscape has drastically changed in the past decades. Canadians consume media differently now due to vast technological advancements and online environments, and this has forced the government to offer incentive packages attracting interest to a career in journalism.
“Responsible journalism follows ethics and standards, keeping the news accurate, balanced, and truthful,” Mammadov commented. “The lack of journalistic standards in the online world of social media and fake news has contributed to a need for the resurgence of credible media.
“Even with most information coming from non-traditional media sources, people still trust traditional media practices because we don’t tell them what to think, we tell them what to think about.”
Mammadov outlined two important steps UFV will use to lay the foundation it needs to be a leader in training the new multimedia professionals of the future: UFV is finalizing the approval of a Communications major, and the creation of a Freelance Journalism minor is currently in the works. UFV is setting itself up to become an outlet for freelancers to meet an increasing need in the constantly evolving media landscape.
With support from local media organizations, Mammadov believes that a “deep pool” of freelance journalists can be created and maintained through UFV. The idea of freelance journalism as “minoring in a life passion” combined with the benefits of taking a degree major that is more mainstream, has better earning potential, and provides more career stability, is ideal.
“A specialist in other educational and professional fields having legitimate journalism training and accreditation offers a level of expertise not seen in traditional journalism. This is something we want to promote,” Mammadov said.
Learning how to recognize opportunities in the changing job market is also an important piece to building a successful career as a multimedia journalist. Current journalism training does not include business development practices like marketing, graphic design, or user-interface design. But Mammadov thinks UFV can put it all together and offer programs meeting the demands of the marketplace.
The idea of freelance journalism is empowering because the individual has control over the stories they write and the angles they cover. While they must continue to adhere to submission guidelines, subject their work to editorial processes, and meet deadlines, freelance journalists have more freedom in the workplace than if they were to work for a traditional media outlet.
Freelancers can choose their workload and how they do their work. The organizational structures and locations, as well as the people they work with, can be significantly more flexible than traditional media jobs. Freelancers also have the potential to reach much larger audiences through publishing in a variety of outlets. This can ultimately translate into the opportunity to earn more money.
Mammadov recommended another angle for professional development as a journalist. “We can all start by working to make ourselves, and the world, a better place. By the end of your UFV program you will be a better version of yourself.”
Image: Rashad Mammadov
Steve is a third-year BFA creative writing/visual arts student who’s been a contributing writer, staff writer and now an editor at The Cascade. He's always found stories and adventures but now has the joy of capturing and reporting them.
