Journalism education

NEWS ITEM: Five universities and two foundations recently (May 28) announced a collaborative plan to bolster journalism education.

Normally competitors, the institutions using $4.1 million from the Carnegie Corporation and the Knight Foundation over the next two years to join forces will be the journalism schools of Columbia University, Northwestern University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Southern California and Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics and Public Policy. The universities have already pledged another $2 million in the third year to continue the collaboration.
(citation below)
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It seems to me there is a disconnect between what this project is aiming for and what the average j-school and students need, and I can’t wait to get the details. It’s a bit of an “inside the beltway”mentality, it seems to me. If we wanted to improve the productivity of the average American worker, would we toss our money only at Wal-Mart, GM, Nike and the like?

I believe that some of the more important issues won’t be studied in depth, if at all:

(a) Most journalism programs are joined at the hip with advertising and/or public relations. While this may be good for student numbers and therefore dollars, those students can be a drag on a good journalism curriculum.
(b) Journalism schools are increasingly unable to hire talented working journalists, even to teach the skills classes, if they don’t hold the Ph.D. That’s becoming a huge problem.
(c) Too many faculty members are way behind the curve technologically, which is not only where the field is going, it is important as we try to attract more and better students, who often see print journalism as boring. I know some j-profs, for instance, who don’t know what a blog is.
(d) ACEJMC, the accrediting body, is not as relevant, important and influential as it should be. Or maybe accreditation is not as important as we think it is. Only one in four programs is accredited today. I agree with the accreditation guidelines generally. I just think the group is slow to adjust to meet the quickly changing media environment and provide support for programs under various pressures from ill-informed administrators. It also is not flexible enough for smaller programs with unusual institutional challenges.
(e) Out here in the apparent hinterlands of journalism education, most students work 15-20 hours a week and many are working full-time jobs. Then journalism programs suggest or require a 20-hrs-per week internship, probably for no pay, in preparation for a job that pays worse than a full-time pizza delivery driver. Tough to get a lot of talented students interested.

I hope these high-powered foundations and deans remember to look into what the little guys need. We could use some help, too.

Story link:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/05/27/carnegie