Towards a Broader Conception of Entrepreneurial Journalism Education: starting with everyday practice

In this article we examine the impact of entrepreneurialism on postgraduate students of journalism at Aarhus University in Denmark. We specifically focus on a course module that students follow while undertaking a full-time internship in the media and communication industry. The module requires students to use their internship to identify opportunities for innovation, to devise innovative solutions and, where possible, to present and implement solutions. Drawing on focus group interviews and assignments, we explore how students experienced learning entrepreneurship and innovation whilst being immersed in communities of practice. The places of internship functioned as anchors for the students’ entrepreneurship processes by providing access to a wide range of opportunities for development and a real-life arena for testing their own entreprenurial skills. Yet, even in this environment students did not necessarily develop a strong entrepreneurial identity. Instead, they felt the module content on entrepreneurialism made them look at their places of internship in a more critical way. Moreover, it provided them with skills for innovation and entrepreneurship that would be useful in the future.