There’s really no better way to start a new school year than by realizing your dreams are unattainable and the craft to which you aspire is worth no more than the paper your degree is printed on. This is exactly what a number of prospective journalism students at the University of Colorado at Boulder may soon be facing when a committee determines whether their journalism school, and indeed their profession, is really worth all the trouble.
Advances in technology and the disinterest of a nation have irreparably harmed the institutions of news media, yet every year, the University of Wisconsin’s own School of Journalism and Mass Communication turns away scores of young people hoping to see their name in a byline or have their chance to break a major story. I too hold these delusions of grandeur. But in the case of CU, their answer to stagnant journalistic practices and plunging circulation rates should not and cannot be fewer trained journalists in the field.
The Associated Press recently reported that CU might phase out their J-School program to better allocate financial resources and faculty. Or, they may better serve their student body in an alternative program focusing on new media practices; similar programs having been instated at UC-Berkeley’s Center for New Media and the New Media Innovation Lab at the Cronkite School at Arizona State University. Responding to the changing demands of its audience is of paramount importance to instructors of future journalists, but when anyone with a case of Diet Coke, mild carpal tunnel, a working knowledge of design programs and a laptop can be considered a “citizen journalist,” we’re quite frankly attempting to shine shit rather than repackaging the same product.
I’ve long subscribed to the belief that citizen journalism is akin to citizen dentistry. With little oversight concerning journalistic ethics and the transmission of concise, accurate reporting, there is little guarantee of the profession and its watchdog role being upheld in the coming decades. Though, some could put forth a convincing argument that these principles have been extremely deficient in the last quarter century. Regardless, focusing on creative and effective means of getting the facts out there is admirable and even necessary to preserve some semblance of an informed public, but putting the focus entirely on this facet of modern journalism is short-sighted at best and only plays into the atrophy of America’s attention span.
Students currently enrolled in CU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication will be allowed to complete their studies and earn their degree regardless of what the committee deems to be the more favorable course for the school. But if CU does dissolve their program, it should be done in the best interest of the students and with a continued commitment to producing informed and skilled professionals rather than jumping on the flashy new media bandwagon.
When the bulk of radio airwaves are dominated by talk shows and the latest auto-tuned pop sensation, television is plagued by reality shows and shouting matches between political pundits, and by and large the only steady consumers of newspapers are cold homeless people on park benches, journalism and the way in which it is communicated is well overdue for a makeover.
But sacrificing the principles and training that have made the fourth estate such a formidable and effective educator of the masses is not the way to go. Granted, the new pseudo-J-School will likely attempt to instill many of the same values and a general commitment to truthful reporting that a more traditional school would, you can’t teach innovation, you can only foster it.
I can’t call myself a professional journalist, but I’ve been confined in a newsroom for upwards of 70 hours per week surrounded by people who genuinely give a damn about putting out news. I’ve been paid, albeit extremely poorly, to do newsgathering, writing and editing on semi-relevant issues. I’ve been lucky to have such an opportunity. I don’t expect to ever earn much money or receive any critical acclaim for my exploits in the field of journalism, but I’d at least enjoy the title and not having to sell my “product” to some conglomerate pimp.
Jake Begun ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism.
