A Qualitative Study of Connected Middle and High School Broadcast Journalism Programs and Their Relationship to Career Broadcast Journalism

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand how aspects of connected middle and high school broadcast journalism programs employ and evince properties of the professional broadcast journalism field. I consulted two participant groups consisting of four broadcast educators from two connected broadcast programs, each containing one middle and one high school, as well as a focus group of five professional broadcast journalists. Using a curriculum theory lens and thematic data analysis, I determined similarities between the connected education programs and the broadcast journalism field in order to highlight the benefits of broadcast journalism education for students (and society as a whole)