From whimsical opinions it is said that communication is useless because of the advancement of technology. That communication, journalists and media remained for antiquity. And before this bad vision, some points must be clarified. If technology advances, we must prepare ourselves to use its tools well. That the media and journalists do not die, but that they move to other platforms. Others will say that companies no longer use communication but marketing. Let’s see, marketing is used to sell products, but communicator comes into the picture to sell them with the right message.

That governments abuse communication and employ inept communicators is the fault of those in power, but let’s not generalize. The rise of technology has already forced schools of communication to change their curricula. The pandemic intensified the economic crisis and many students left universities. Both communication and journalism careers become a question, and why are you going to study it? In theoretical and practical communication in the country, we are still in its infancy, moreover, we lack communication, but faculties and communication careers, at least in Quito, are running out of students. In another Ecuadorian city, they look at this situation with concern, but they are taking measures. This is the case of the University of Cuenca. The director of the Department of Communication, Diego Samaniego, says that the subject Entrepreneurship is included in his curriculum to teach students about digital business. This academic update is also a consequence of the responsibility your university has towards the Central Sierra region and part of the East, since it receives students from this sector.

In terms of theoretical and practical communication in the country, we are still in our infancy, the more we lack communication…

For the rector of the Catholic University of Cuenca, Enrique Pozo, the communication crisis is a consequence of the fact that we still do not understand that we must prepare to use technological tools and recover valuable theoretical content such as practicing good investigative journalism, but transferring it to new digital platforms. And he explains that it is not only communication that is in crisis, but that there are also other professions such as agronomy, social and economic, because now young people want to do everything from their phones. “You have to invest in human quality from technology,” he claims and says that young people are moving out and that studying at university is no longer their goal.

Andrea De Santis, director of the communication course at UPS in Cuenca, also agrees with this idea, that currently the life project of young people is not to enroll in university, but rather to emigrate or earn easy money. He points out that the Communication course at his university is aware of the labor market and teaches technology management, but the efforts are not enough, because “we are stuck in a catastrophic economic crisis.” This UPS career has its own television channel, new radio booths and works to expand the community, according to De Santis, despite the technological boom, the mission is not to train professionals to serve the system, where they are paid little, work a lot and don’t complain; but to do their work with social criteria. (OR)