The basic question is why a journalism major at USF? Some of us have been working toward that goal for a long time, and, although we do have a minor now, the taking of the final step is not guaranteed. (By the way, it would not be a renegade major. It would remain ensconced in Media Studies, drawing on that unit's resources.)
What some of us have argued is that a small college with a commitment to intellectual rigor and a commitment to social justice -- that's what some people say about USF, anyway -- is a desirable place to train journalists at a moment in our history when journalism is under attack for lacking passion and/or submitting to the false god of objectivity and/or wallowing in bias (right? left?) and/or stooping to the lowest common denominator in manners and morals in pursuit of the advertising dollar.
Or should we back off, stick with our minor and concentrate on doing what we now do but doing it better?
Tuesday, August 2: And let me add one more thing to promote discussion. There's a middle area here that grads from recent years are so very well qualified to talk about. Say that we do go ahead with the major. What courses should be required? What courses should be offered as options? What courses, either current or possible, should be avoided? In short, if we decide to do it, how should we do it? And a final point: Currently this site is set to allow anonymous comments since anonymity can promote truth-telling. In the unlikely event, things get nasty I can change the setting.
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7 comments:
Hmmm. Adler praises USF's geography -- which is a good point. San Francisco is stuffed with opportunities for those who want them. I recall Pat Bhoolsuwan on her first day of school as a freshman walking into my office and telling me she had an internship, needed an hour's credit for doing it and I had 30 seconds to sign the paper. So Point One well made: We aren't New York or LA but there are internship opportunities. And there really should be many many opportunities for Web work around here, and Web is the future, right? So we have another good question: Should the next hire be a Web publishing guru????
Oh the talk is *flowing now.* Teresa R. has made what I think is an excellent point: If you want to get a job in journalism, the degree is worth something. It's not a waste of time. It's not irrelevant. Although the ideal journalist is one steeped in the liberal arts curriculum and then trained -- in grad school or by an employer -- to do that journalism thing, fewer and fewer newspapers want to be the training ground for the ignorant but brilliant and brillantly well-rounded would-be journalist. So that's one hurdle cleared: a degree in journalism, that is, certification that one has majored in journalism, is a good thing. Now, should *USF* offer one? Or should we be urging every student with journalism aspirations to transfer out to an existing program or to start saving for grad school?
I see the wisdom in that, George.
I'd love to see a Journalism major at USF! For me, I was much more interested in journalism than "communications." I had to suffer through all those boring comm classes to get to the good stuff, which was mostly Dr. J's classes and the magazines ones taught by Bob S. I loved hearing from real freelancers on what it's like to be one; writing up all sorts of news stories and learning copy editing marks; designing a magazine with a class from start to finish--although we never got it printed, grrrrr!; and analyzing the current media; taking tours of the Chronicle and breathing in the same stale air as real journalist. Basically, I enjoyed all the hands-on activities from my time at USF and feel that they have really helped me in my career today.
Hola from NYC, where the weather is 94 degrees and super humid. Fabulous. Now get me out of here!!! But just a quick thought. I will have more to say soon.
My first job in NYC was not what I had hoped for, but a job's a job. But talk about a job where the blind was leading the blind. The senior editors and managers of this magazine did not have a journalism background, nor in writing or english. Everyday was a guessing game. I was a copy editor, and I had to work with an EIC who changed his mind on grammar and style every single day. Although a few of us did have a background in journalism, we weren't in any position to influence the direction of the magazine. And since everyone had their own ideas on how a magazine should run, every issue close was a train wreck that resulted in a mediocre (if that) outcome. And forget any sort of proper research or reportage. None of the writers could string complete sentences together.
So, no, you don't need a background in journalism to work in newspapers and magazines. But that is why there's so much garbage on the newsstands, bad reporting, numerous corrections, etc. Anyone can wake up and say, I'm going to be a journalist, or an editor, or a writer, or creative director, because I can dream, and dreams do come true.
Look at FHM. Lucky. Cargo. PC Magazine. Is this journalism? Or are they all simply creations to meet the needs of Madison Avenue? I think before we start discussing, we need to determine what is "journalism," what is reportage. Is an in-depth story about college binge drinking in Maxim equal to a similar story written in the New Yorker?
Perhaps a reason for the creation of a journalism major is to strengthen the industry. Even though I only had an emphasis in print journalism, the things I've learned from Doc and the faculty are vital to keeping journalism in my personal career a noble profession, whatever difference I can make to whatever newspaper or magazine I'm at. If more people in this industry had proper training, journalism doesn't have to have the image that it has.
OK, it's 8:30 on a Tuesday night, and I'm still at work, and I'm running on fumes. So pardon the brainfarts. I'm sure my situation is an isolated one, but it's becoming increasingly the norm, and it's disturbing.
More on this later when I'm not stuck at work.
My field isadvertising.
Here's a parallel:
just as little as 10 years ago the biggest, most prestigeous ad agencies in New York all were hiring Humanities graduates from the Ivy League and giving them basic ad training at the agencies.
After the "crash" of 2000 (and following) which most have yet to fully recover from, a new strategy was formed. Hire graduates of UT Austin (which has a huge advertising program) or the like (oddly, most of the big programs are in the South) and - while you might not get the "smartest" people, you'll certainly get those that speak the language.
In short, don't put money in training and (to paraphrase Pope Innocent III) let God sort 'em out.
In reality, in advertising we get regular opportunities for pruning staff. All you need to do is lose an account and you hack off the least productive of your staff. I've done it myself on a modest scale. The big ones in New York hack 50+ people at a time.
I'm not sure journalism is in the same position, but I do understand their need to cut expenses like "training."
This will be an interesting blog!
GP
Brother Pat Lagreid emphasizes the value of hands on and the fact San Francisco is a place where hands on opportunities are at hand. I will take that as an endorsement of our continuing to think about a major. I must say I love his rather common sense comment that if we graduate fools or rogues their follies later on will jump up and bite us. The fact that right now in America some reporters and editors are getting their feet tangled up in a variety of ethical dilemmas is an encouragement to USF; I mean, I'm not saying USF grads are literally holier than thou, but the thrust of the university is that life/work has an ethical dimension. Of course, every profession, every school and unversity, gives lip service to ethical conduct. But there's more of an emphasis on such at USF.... This would make a fine thread/post. Is the ethical emphasis a something extra, a value added, that USF actually offers? Or am I living in a fool's paradies, i.e. 5th floor, University Center?
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