Periódico 15. Historical reconstruction and contributions in journalistic formation

Abstract

This paper presents what was exposed in the investigation “Periódico 15 and its importance in journalism training at Unab”. This research was oriented towards documenting the historic evolution of journalism training and establishing the role of Periódico 15 as a dissertation requirement for obtaining the Master of Education degree from Unab.

For the present study, we developed a qualitative ethnographic methodology. In order to do so, we revised documents and documented testimonials from students, teachers, and former news directors, which were involved in the first 13 years of activities of Periódico 15. Based on these testimonials, we performed a historical reconstruction of the newspaper and established its importance allowing students to gain real-world experience in journalism.

Periódico 15 provides students with first-hand experiences allowing them to understand the Social context and natural scenarios under which journalism develops and, at the same time, teaches them to be more mature and responsible journalists.

In addition, we concluded that Periódico 15 needs to continue its formative tasks by reinforcing a closer monitoring of academic experiences. It also needs to improve all aspects related with digital context and its related courses.